Melania of Russia
by Andrew's Slinky
Summary: Melania is a proud Russian woman who doesn't need anyone's help, thank you very much. But when Dracula is ressurected and intent on getting her as a present for his new bride, she may need the help of a certain monster hunter. Will her icy insides melt?
1. Orders and Meetings

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and any character that you do not recognize.

Summary: Van Helsing and Carl are sent to Moscow, Russia to protect a young woman who has caught the gaze of a newly resurrected Dracula. Gabriel is still upset that he could never explore his feelings for Anna and when he meets this new woman he finds himself intrigued, but she isn't that easy.

'This is the assignment.' Said Carl as the slide of a woman came onto the wall. Her hair a dark mass of curls and her skin a pale porcelain, but what really captured Van Helsing was the sight of her deep green eyes. They seemed sad, but fierce and he felt something erupt in his chest, much the same way Anna's photo had captured him.

'My assignment is a woman?' he asked Carl.

'Yes, you see Dracula has his eyes trained upon her and she needs protection. Her name is Melania Paslovich and she lives in Moscow, Russia with her younger brother Ivan. Both her parents are dead and she has been running their household since she was fifteen years old.' Explained Carl patiently.

'When do we leave?' asked Gabriel quietly.

'We?' replied Carl with a gulp as he followed Van Helsing towards the main floor of the Vatican.

'Yes, you're coming too.'

Carl remained silent as he crossed himself as he followed Gabriel up the stairs.

'Are you sure this is the right place?' asked Carl as he and Van Helsing stopped in front of a large, and impressive stone mansion.

'Yeah, that's the right place.' Replied Van Helsing as he adjusted his hat before urging his horse forward.

'C'mon, Carl.' He called over his shoulder as he rode up to the front door. He slid off his horse and knocked loudly three times. Carl stumbled next to him just as the large, ornate wooden door swung open to reveal a petite, blonde woman, her blue eyes tired as she viewed the two men in front of her.

'Can I help you?' she asked them, her voice heavily laden with her accent.

'Yes, my name is Gabriel Van Helsing and I was sent here by the Vatican.' He told her and her face lightened in recognition.

'Of course, please enter, your horses will be taken care of.' She told them gently as she ushered them inside as two men came and led the horses away towards the stables. The woman led them through the foyer and into the living room, both rooms richly decorated and warm.

'Sir Ivan, these men are from the Vatican.' She supplied gently as she bowed out of the room, leaving Van Helsing and Carl alone with a man who couldn't have been a day over eighteen. His dark green eyes tired and worn, his face held a few days stubble and his dark hair was shorn close to his head. He stood regally and bowed to the two men.

'My sister and I are greatly indebted to you, Mr?'

'Van Helsing, Gabriel Van Helsing, and this is Carl, he's here to assist me.'

'Of course, I do apologize but it seems that my sister was called away earlier this evening, but she should be home at any moment, if you can manage it I would like for you to sit with me a while and wait for her.' He supplied gently, his voice commanding but soft.

'I believe we could manage it.' Replied Gabriel as he and Carl sat across from Ivan. Ivan opened his mouth to speak but before he could manage it a loud slam was heard and the click of heels across the marble floor of the foyer, along with a feminine voice letting loose a string of curses in Russian.

'Melania?' called Ivan, his voice apprehensive as his sister came into view, her dark hair pulled into an intricate bun atop her head, and an emerald green ball gown adorning her slimmer frame. Her eyes were on fire and her mouth was set into a grim line.

'Melania?' tried Ivan once more and her answer shook with fury.

'I have never been so insulted in all of my life.' She told him and Ivan winced, seeming to know exactly what she was talking about.

'Now, Melania I just wanted to be sure you'd be taken care of when I was gone.' He tried to explain, but this answer seemed to infuriate his sister even more.

'I ought to… I should really…I am so angry I could just…' she couldn't seem to put her fury into words and instead walked over to the bookshelf behind Ivan and stepped up on the ladder before it. She dug behind a few of the larger volumes and pulled a dark green bottle out in triumph. She snapped the lid off and took a large gulp of the dark amber liquid. Taking a deep breath she started again.

'I am not property Ivan, and who do you think took care of this place when Mama and Papa died?' she asked him, a softer edge to her quiet voice and Ivan knew that this meant she was about to explode.

'I know that you did Melania but I just wanted to provide for you…' he tried once more but she cut him off with one look.

'You disgust me.' She snapped.

'Melania, I didn't exactly promise you, I just told the Count…' but Ivan trailed off at the sight of his sister's face.

'The Count, who said anything about the Count, Ivan, I was talking about James, why would you mention the Count?' she asked him, her voice shaking with fury and fear.

'I…' and he paused once again, as his sister caught him.

'You promised me to the Count?' she asked him and Ivan winced.

'Now, Melania, I didn't exactly promise you.' He replied as she started to remove her shoes.

'Start running Ivan.' She told him quietly as she placed her shoes next to the couch.

'Why?' he asked her as she removed her emerald earrings.

'Because I'm going to kill you!' she shouted as she started after him and Ivan had enough sense to run.

'Melania, I didn't mean any harm!' he called over his shoulder as his sister chased him about the room. Finally she pulled a dagger from somewhere inside her dress and tossed it towards Ivan with expert precision. The dagger sliced through his sleeve and pinned him to the wall.

'Now that you're just standing there, pay attention. I will not be sold off like cattle at an auction. If I do decide to marry it will be my choice not yours and I am disgusted at the very idea of you thinking you own me, now are you going to introduce me?' she told him as she turned towards Gabriel and Carl, who both looked shocked at her behavior.

'This is Gabriel Van Helsing and Carl, they're from the Vatican.'

'The Vatican?' asked Melania as she shook Carl's hand.

'Yes, ma'am.' He told her as she held her hand to Gabriel, who took it firmly but gently and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

'Now why on Earth would the Vatican send the infamous Van Helsing?' she asked, her accent thickening her words.

'To protect you.' Muttered Ivan almost silently, but Melania heard him and let loose a string of curse words that would make any sailor's mouth drop.

'Men and their obsession with trying to protect me when I can do it myself.' She growled as she left the room without so much as a goodbye.

'Well, she certainly is interesting, isn't she?' whispered Carl to Gabriel, whose dark eyes flashed.

'Yes, very interesting.' He replied as Ivan began to show them to their rooms, all the while apologizing for his sister.

A muffled thump and a whispered expletive awoke Gabriel and he sat up in the dark. He heard another thump from downstairs and the sound of someone trying to close the door quietly. Gabriel slid out of bed, and neglecting to put on his shirt or shoes, padded quietly down the stairs. The sight that greeted him was not one he had expected.

Melania was standing in the foyer, a bag of weapons at her feet and her long, dark hair cascading down her shoulders. She had changed out of her ball gown and was now in a dark pair of skintight pants, a loose, blood red shirt wrapped around her and a belt tied around her waist just under the bust line.

Gabriel stood there in shock; she was the most ravishing creature that he had ever seen. So distracted by her beauty, he continued down the stairs and hit the thirteenth one, which, being true to the number, creaked loudly.

Melania spun around in surprise but it was Gabriel who gasped. She was sporting a wicked black eye and her lip was split. She was holding her arm close to her body, gingerly and when she spun to meet his gaze, he saw her eyes slide out of focus.

'Are you alright?' he asked her as he finished his way down the stairs.

'I'm fine.' She growled low as she spun back around and bent to pick up her bag of weapons. When she made it about half way down to the bag, she stopped and gasped.

'Melania?' asked Gabriel as he took a step towards her. She slowly straightened up, her good arm raised to her head.

'I'm fine, I swear.' She whispered before her knees buckled and she started to tumble to the floor. The only thing that saved her from further injury was Gabriel's quick reaction as he scooped her up into his arms. Her good arm wound around his neck and her long fingers tangled with the hairs at the nape of his neck, causing something deep in his chest to awake and growl in lust.

'I'm fine, I can take care of myself.' She half-moaned, half-whispered as she rested her head against his bare chest. Gabriel merely chuckled as he carried her into the living room and set her gingerly on the couch.

'Where's the first aid?' he asked her and she pointed him into the kitchen. He rooted around in the cabinets for a few moments before finding what he needed and he walked back to the living room to find Melania curled up on the couch, her eyes shut lightly.

'Melania?' he whispered and her green eyes slid into focus as she turned her head to look at him.

'What?' she asked.

'You have to sit up.' He told her and to his surprise she obliged and he sat next to her. 'What happened?'

' I just went out for a quick sweep of the area, plus I had to work off some steam. So I gathered everything up and, ouch!' she gasped as he started to clean the rather deep gash on her arm.

'Sorry.' He murmured as he gestured for her to go on.

'I gathered everything and headed out. I kept thinking that something was behind me but everytime I looked there was nothing there. Then I was blind-sided by something I had never seen before. It swiped me away like I was nothing and I slammed into a tree. Then it just started to destroy me, I have never been taken so easily in a fight. I managed to get my silver dagger from inside my boot and stabbed it in the shoulder, it took off screaming and I managed to get home, but I have no idea what the hell that thing was, and I'm not too comfortable with the idea of something I don't know how to kill running around my city.' She shuddered.

Gabriel nodded in understanding as he finished bandaging her arm and then started to wipe the blood off her full lips. When their eyes locked, Gabriel found himself having trouble breathing. Melania stared at his dark, stormy eyes and found herself connecting with him in a way she had never known before. He leaned in and so did she when the moment was shattered as Ivan came into the room.

'Melania!' he shouted as he noticed his sister's injuries. Melania sighed and looked down at her lap before responding to her brother.

'I'm fine Ivan, don't worry.' She tried to be reassuring.

'Don't worry, shvibek you look horrible.' He murmured as he kneeled at her feet and took her injured arm into his hands.

'Thanks Ivan, that makes it better.' She replied sarcastically as Gabriel gently loosened Ivan's grip on his sister and slid her arm into a makeshift sling. Melania smiled at him before standing.

'Careful.' Started Ivan, but Melania waved her good hand.

'I'm fine, just need some rest.' She told him as she started to walk away, but for the second time that night her knees betrayed her calm and strong front and she started to tumble to the ground once again. And once again, Gabriel's strong arms swung her up to cradle against his chest.

'We can't keep doing this, people will talk.' He teased and to his surprise she chuckled.

'Well, hopefully we won't have to keep doing this where people can see us.' She murmured in reply as she snuggled against him.

'Her rooms the third one on the left.' Whispered Ivan as he started to put away the first-aid. Gabriel nodded and started up the stairs.

'Are you sure you're all right?' he asked her quietly and when she didn't respond he paused on the stairs.

'Melania?' he asked as he looked down at the exotic beauty in his arms. She was fast asleep; the dark curls that framed her face making her look much paler and her black eye much darker. Gabriel sighed and shook his head, the last time he had fallen for a girl she had died. He had better keep his heart guarded this time.

He slowly nudged open her door and took in the sight of her room. The walls were a deep but almost cheery blue, the rest in pale grays and white. He gently set her on the silk bedspread and removed her boots before slipping her beneath the covers. She whimpered a little when her injured arm was moved, but to Gabriel's immense relief she didn't wake. He brushed her dark hair away from her face before tucking the covers close to her chin. Her good arm shot out and captured his wrist. Gabriel paused in his movements; he didn't want to startle her.

In her half asleep state she pulled his arm close and brushed an innocent kiss to just below his thumb on the inside of his wrist before letting go. Gabriel stayed rooted to the floor; that one innocent kiss had sent the strongest wave of lust through his body and his stomach had erupted into persistent and rather large butterflies. He slowly backed away from the side of her bed, before walking as quickly and silently as possible out her door, shutting it behind him.

He leaned back against the cool wood and took a couple of deep breaths before smiling to himself; he had a feeling that he was going to like this assignment.

'I heard that Lady Mel had a rather eventful night, is she okay?' asked Lilia, the blonde woman from the day before.

'She'll be just fine, she's still resting.' Replied Ivan with a warm smile and Lilia smiled back before bowing out of the room. Ivan watched her leave with an unreadable look in his eyes before turning back to Gabriel and Carl.

'What exactly does Dracula want with my sister?' he asked them and Carl shook his head.

'Well, we don't exactly know. After all you are countries apart, how he even heard of Melania is a mystery to us.'

'She's a good fighter,' interrupted Van Helsing, 'he probably heard of all the things that she's killed. But what he would want with her I don't know.'

'If you would tell me your family history, I might be able to find a connection.' Offered Carl and Ivan nodded.

'Of course, I will take you to the tower.' Ivan and Carl left and Gabriel stayed standing in the living room, watching the bloodstain on the carpet where Melania's arm had bled.

'Blood does not come out of carpet with a scrub-brush, I doubt that your staring would do the trick.' Came a teasing voice from behind him and Gabriel chuckled.

'Finally awake I see, your brother was starting to worry.'

'Ivan worries too much, I'm fine, thanks to you.' She replied and he smiled down at her.

'Well, I couldn't just let you bleed to death now could I?' he teased good-naturedly and Melania sighed.

'It was close.'

'Yes.'

'Thank you for saving me.' She finished much to Gabriel's shock, she had seemed too proud to say thank you, at least not directly.

'You're welcome.'

'Why are you here Mr. Van Helsing?' she asked him as she sat down. He sat next to her.

'To protect you from Dracula,' she started to interrupt but he shook his head, 'I know you can take care of yourself and that you don't want protection. Mine or anyone else's, but what you have to understand is that I have faced Dracula before and there is very little that can kill him, only a werewolf.'

'I know, you do not become a monster hunter without reading up on the most infamous one of all, your reputation precedes you, but Dracula can be resurrected so I doubt that even a werewolf could save us now.'

He just sat in silence and watched her, the deep bruise on her cheek and eye making a flame of anger ignite in his chest. Her arm was still wrapped in the makeshift sling, but she had changed her outfit once more. A dark pair of pants with tall black boots, a green and blue striped sash sitting on her waist and a sapphire blue shirt wrapped loosely around her thin frame. She hadn't bothered with makeup or doing anything to the beautiful curls that hung down her back other than holding them back with a bandana that matched the sash at her waist.

'Why are you staring at me?' she asked him and he looked up into her green eyes.

'Just wondering something.'

'What?'

'Why someone as delicately built as you would get into the monster hunting business.'

'My father was a monster hunter and so was my mother. It's a family business.'

'Why doesn't Ivan help?' he asked her sharply and she looked offended.

'He does, when I ask him to; he has to keep up appearances for the village. If I am lost it will not matter, he is the son, it is crucial that he survives.'

'What about you?' asked Gabriel in slight anger.

'What about me? I am not important, I fight I die, it is the way of the world.'

'It is not, you are just as important as Ivan.'

'Do not lie, Mr. Van Helsing. If you were to have kids you would want a son and you know it. Don't deny what is inside of you. I know how it works and I don't mind. This is my life, and I accept it. You should too.' She replied softly and for the first time in his life Gabriel was speechless.

'Melania, you're awake.' Ivan's voice broke the uncomfortable silence as he entered the room.

'Yes, Ivan, I am sorry for scaring you.'

Ivan rushed forward and embraced his sister, 'It is all right shvibek, I am just glad that you are alright.'

'Where is Carl?' asked Melania as she stepped out of Ivan's arms.

'He is in the tower looking for a reason that Dracula would want to harm you.' Answered Ivan gently as he ushered his sister to sit once more next to Gabriel. The two monster hunters exchanged embarrassed looks.

'I will get Lilia to make you some breakfast.' Said Ivan as he once again left the pair alone.

'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things, I have no right to assume what your values are.' Apologized Melania.

'It's all right, I'm sorry for assuming anything about your life.' Replied Gabriel not looking up from his hands.

'So what do we do now?' she asked him and he looked over at her.

'About Dracula I mean.' She clarified and Van Helsing shrugged.

'I don't know, until we know what he wants with you we should just leave him alone, no need to anger him until it's necessary.'


	2. Realizations

'Van Helsing!' called Carl a few hours later and the monster hunter took the stairs two at a time to find Carl in the tower, a slim black, leather bound book in his hand.

'What is it, Carl?' he asked as he took a step closer to his shaking friend.

'We'll need Melania to be sure, but I think I've found Dracula's connection to her.' Replied Carl as he passed Van Helsing and started down the winding staircase. Gabriel watched him go with a slightly confused look, but followed him anyway.

'Miss Melania?' asked Carl, a slight shake to his voice. Melania spun on her heels to look over at him and visibly paled as she saw the book in his hand.

'Where did you find that?' she asked him, fear in her stance, eyes and voice.

'In the tower,' he replied, thumbing through the pages and missing her reaction, 'Do you know Elisabeth Bathory?'

'I did.' He caught the fear this time and looked up at her with apologetic eyes.

'How?'

'She was a noble woman who lived just a few miles away from the place where I grew up in Hungary.'

'And?'

'And I went to her castle just like many other girls.'

'And what happened there?'

'Nothing, she taught us to be proper young ladies, but obviously it never really stuck.' She was avoiding the question and everyone knew it.

'What happened Melania?' asked Gabriel softly as he entered the room more fully after eavesdropping on the conversation between her and Carl.

'Nothing, she taught us how to be proper ladies, that is it.'

'This diary tells us differently.' Replied Carl.

'That diary was never to be found.'

'But it was Mel, you never talked about what happened at the Bathory castle, and we moved not long after you came back home, what happened?' asked Ivan.

'Elisabeth Bathory was a noble woman, widowed early in her years, and one day a servant girl of hers was brushing her hair, but she pulled too hard, and snagged it. Lady Bathory slapped the poor girl across the face. Now that is not so unusual but Lady Bathory enjoyed wearing rings, many of them, and when she slapped that poor girl it cut her cheek drawing blood. Lady Bathory thought that the blood on her hand made the skin underneath softer, smoother, more youthful. So she had another servant of hers, a man, kill the girl and drain her of her blood. She bathed in it, thinking it made it her look so much younger, and then she became obsessed with her beauty and youth. When she had exhausted her resources around her castle, she sent further and further away for virgin girls in villages, and had them report to the castle under the false pretense of getting an education and a higher place in the world.'

'Didn't anyone ask where their daughters had disappeared to?' asked Gabriel and she shook her head.

'No, Lady Bathory told the families that she had married them off to far away nobles. No one ever asked for proof. So she continued to kill the girls. She wouldn't kill you right away of course, she drained you of blood, then left you alone for a few days, and then came back for more.'

'How long were you there?'

'A month and a half, she drained me of blood several times,' she pulled up her pant leg and showed three puncture wounds, evenly spaced on her calf, 'But then someone investigated the disappearance of their daughter because Lady Bathory had been stupid enough to take noble's daughters when she had taken all the peasant girls. And they found several bodies in the woods surrounding her castle, and they stormed it. Well, Lady Bathory heard them coming and she ordered her servants to kill the girls that were left. We were kept in the basement, in cages, sometimes with other girls, sometimes alone. I was alone. And I heard the screams of the other girls and when the cage next to mine was opened I knew I was next, but I was afraid to die. So when the door to my cell was opened I pushed as hard as I could against the door, and the man opening it flew backwards. I ran through the hallways and somehow found my way outside.'

'Then what?' asked Gabriel as Ivan turned away, his stomach churning at his sister's description of the place she had been held in.

'Then I slowly made my way home, told my parents that I had been kicked out of her castle and that I was to stay with them again if they would take me. They did, and they never asked me what had happened.'

She stopped her story in tears and every man in the room felt their heart twist at her story.

'Elisabeth Bathory is Dracula's new bride.' Managed Carl and Melania's head snapped up in fear.

'What?'

'That is what he wants you for. You were the one that escaped. She wants your blood.'

Melania visibly paled and took a step away from Carl as though she could protect herself if she stayed far away from him.

'Melania?' asked Gabriel as he took a step towards her.

'She's back?' she asked in a whisper, covering her mouth with a shaking hand, trying to compose herself.

'Yes.'

'As a real vampire?'

'Yes.'

'And she wants my blood?'

'Yes.'

She stayed silent as her entire body started to shake uncontrollably and slowly sank into the couch behind her.

Gabriel and Ivan exchanged frightened looks at her reaction and Ivan jerked his head. Gabriel took his gesture and sat next to the trembling woman, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

'We won't let her attack you.' He told her gently, but she didn't stop shaking.

'Do they know where I am?' she asked and the three men exchanged bewildered looks.

'Yes, they know where you are.'

'Then it's only a matter of time?' she asked, confirming her worst fear, the one thought that plagued her dreams, turning them into nightmares.

'Yes.'

'Well then, what are we waiting for? We should start to prepare.' She replied, her shaking now under control.

'Maybe we should hide you, just until this is over.' Suggested Ivan but Melania gave him such a withering look that he instantly regretted it.

'No, I won't hide. If she wants me, then she can come an claim me.' Her voice and eyes were steely.

'Very well, then we should prepare.' Said Gabriel, joining in on the conversation.


	3. Attacks

Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter, and I forgot to mention in the previous one that Elisabeth Bathory is a real person, she actually existed in the 1400's in Hungary and she really did drain girls of blood because she thought, drinking it, and bathing in it made her look younger. A noble who was searching for his daughter discovered her and they did storm the castle. They confined her to one room in her castle for the rest of her days and she died there. So if you would like to know more about the real woman, you can find her in books and on the Internet. I DID NOT MAKE HERUP! Sorry I forgot to mention that.

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It had been several days since the discovery of her secret diary and the only reason that Melania left her room was to go hunting. She only ate when someone forced her too and she didn't want to see anyone but Lilia, the one person that she trusted more than anything else in the world.

'How is she?' asked Gabriel as Lilia came down the stairs, an empty lunch tray in her hands.

'Better I think, but she is still very scared, even if she won't admit it, perhaps one of you should talk to her?' Lilia's suggestion seemed innocent enough but she had seen the tension between the two monster hunters and was doing a bit of matchmaking for her boss and friend. Gabriel smiled at the blonde woman before him and took her advice, bounding up the stairs two at a time.

He gently knocked on Melania's door, but there was no answer.

'Melania?' he asked as he entered, seeing her sitting on the window seat, the curtain drawn back and the icy grounds the only thing you could see for miles.

'She's had my blood, I don't know why she would want it now.' Her voice was quiet but she might as well have screamed for all the pain that was in it.

'You are a threat to her.' He replied as he sat down next to her, the breeze from outside penetrating the thin glass of the window and sending shivers up and down his spine, of course that could always be from how close he was to the woman beside him.

'But I don't understand, they locked her away in a tower, how did Dracula reach her?'

'He must have heard of her deeds and fulfilled her wish of eternal youth that she could never achieve in real life.'

'But all of this happened many years ago, did he turn her then?' she asked as she turned to look at him, and he was taken aback by how hollow her eyes looked.

'I don't know, that's something we'll have to ask when we see him.' He wanted to lighten the mood, but he didn't know how.

'Will you hunt with me tonight?' she asked out of the blue and he gave her a disbelieving look for a moment.

'Why?'

'I have never seen you hunt, only heard the stories, it is always better to see a legend in action than hear the exaggeration of it from others.' Her answer was candid and he heard some of the old Melania inside of it, so he agreed.

'Very well, we'll go as soon as it is dusk.'

He started to stand and when she didn't stop him he headed towards the door, glad that he had gotten her to talk a bit about what was bothering her even if he couldn't bring her peace by answering her questions.

'Gabriel?'

'Yes?' he asked as he paused by the door.

'Will you stay with me, just a while longer?' she asked him and he could feel the fragility of her voice just as loudly and as clearly as he could hear it.

'Sure.' He closed the door tightly and came back over to sit on the ledge beside her, they didn't speak and they didn't touch, but it was a comfort to her, to know that he was right there beside her even if he was only ordered to be here by his bosses back at the Vatican.

She had a feeling that even if Dracula came, even if Elisabeth was out for her blood, they could face it, together.

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Melania slowly changed her clothes as she prepared for her hunt with Gabriel, her mind was so filled with questions that she couldn't even process them. She didn't know why she was so special, some other girls had to have escaped in all the confusion, right? Bathory had to go after all of them, she was just next on the list, she was a hunter, not the hunted. And with that disconcerting thought in her mind she headed down the stairs and grabbed her bag of weapons, following Gabriel out the door and into the night.

'Several nights ago you mentioned something you did not know attacked you.'

'Yes.'

'Do you have any idea of what it could be now?' he asked her, a little uncomfortable with the situation, if they didn't have a specific prey then they really just stood in an awkward silence, neither being very good at small talk.

'No.' she sounded surprised at herself, she never forgot to research when something new entered her territory.

The pair reached the center of the woods, where the trees became thicker and both could feel something following them, the feeling familiar to Melania and she instantly knew it was what had attacked her days before.

Gabriel looked over at her, thinking along the same lines and she nodded at him, confirming a scary thought. This thing was hunting them and they had no idea what it was or how to kill it.

A low growl reverberated through the woods and then a high-pitched cackle was heard. Melania spun on her heel, her worn pistol making an appearance. Gabriel stood next to her, his own weapons weighing heavy in his hands. The pair of hunters stood there for a moment, neither moving, not even daring to breath too loudly. Then their hunter appeared.

It was a dog, or what looked like a dog; it had four eyes and reeked of death. When it came close there was saliva dripping from its fangs and its coat was matted down and covered with what looked like mud but when the wind shifted directions the stench of blood reached their sensitive noses and both Melania and Gabriel stepped back.

'This what attacked you?' Gabriel asked her; incredulous that she wouldn't remember that it was a dog with four eyes.

'I don't know.' She whispered, and she didn't, she remembered yellow eyes and the stench of death, but that was it, she couldn't dredge up any other image of what had attacked her.

'Well, if he listened then he is what attacked you.' Came a voice from the shadows and Melania felt all her blood run cold and her mind went numb, she knew that voice, it haunted her dreams.

'Hello Melania.' Purred a woman as she came into the moonlight, resting her hand on the dog's back, a small smile on her face. Gabriel looked from one woman to the other and made the connection.

'Elisabeth.' The voice fell from her lips without emotion. The woman, vampire, before her looked the same as she had when she was alive, the same dark red hair and sparkling grey eyes, her smile glittered in the moonlight and Melania could see the fangs. She was dressed in a floor length dark green gown, jewels around her neck and all her rings still on her fingers.

'You don't look happy to see me dear.' She feigned sadness as Melania took another step back.

'I'm not, and I don't remember you having a dog.' As long as she kept her talking, the longer she had to get out of there alive, with all her blood.

'I borrowed him from Hel, the goddess of Helheim, after I killed her of course. His name is Garm, and at one time he guarded death's gate.'

'You can't leave the gate unguarded.' Melania looked positively stricken and Gabriel just confused, he had never heard of Garm or Hel, or Helheim, they were not Catholic teachings.

'But it is, Yama still has his lovely beasts, I only borrowed the one.' Her smile was back and she took another step towards the hunter before her, making the proud woman prey.

'What do you want?'

'Your blood, dear, it will keep me young and beautiful forever, would you like that? To die the same as your friends?'

'You murdered those girls.'

'Yes, I suppose I did, but they kept me young, I haven't aged a day in nearly thirty years, you must try it.' Her fangs started to grow even more and Garm barked and lunged for Melania, who fired off two shots before tearing off into the woods, Gabriel on her heels.

She could feel her breath quicken, and pump through her lungs with a fierceness she had never felt before, her adrenaline was pouring through her body and burning her skin. She had to hurry; she could hear the shrill cackles and fluttering of Elisabeth's wings. She was going to catch her if she didn't hurry.

'Melania, duck!' she heard him but couldn't follow his advice fast enough and she felt claws dig into her shoulders as Elisabeth lifted her into the air, carrying her off towards the newest castle that housed Dracula, to her inevitable death.

'Damn.' Cursed Gabriel as he watched her get carried off.


	4. Fears

Hey, sorry it took so long to update, but with school and Thanksgiving, I couldn't seem to get the time to work on this chapter, which I had some trouble writing, so tell me what you think.

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Melania hated heights, and being held up in the air by a creature intent on killing her wasn't soothing the fear. She grabbed her lucky dagger and sliced at the claws holding her so far above the ground. And as she fell through the air she had to wonder if this was such a good idea, she wasn't so sure she was going to survive the impact.

She hit the ground running and ducked into the thickest part of the woods that she could find. Her leg was throbbing horribly, and she was sure that she had broken at least three bones in her ankle.

'Gabriel, where are you?' she whispered quietly in the dark trees as she cowered low to the ground, wondering when exactly she had become the hunted instead of the hunter.

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'Where's Melania?' Ivan's voice was laced with worry and Gabriel felt a twinge of regret and sympathy shoot through his stomach.

'We…I…' he trailed off at the look on the younger man's face and Ivan instantly understood.

'She got her, didn't she?'

'Yes.'

'We have to go help her.'

'Ivan, calm down, we need a plan, I've been up against Dracula before…'

Ivan stepped forward, invading his space, steel and fire in his eyes.

'That is my sister out there!'

'I know,' Gabriel placed a calming hand on his shoulder, 'but we can't go in there without a plan of attack.'

'The longer we wait, the longer time they have alone with Melania.'

'Yes, but Elisabeth will want to keep her alive, she's waited a long time for this, and she'll want to savor it.'

Ivan visibly paled at his choice of words, and Gabriel squeezed his shoulder in reassurance before heading off into the house to collect all of his weapons, and Carl.

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Melania felt herself start to shiver from the chill that permeated from everywhere around her, even the ground beneath her feet. She needed to find her way home, but she had no idea of where to start, she had never been this deep in the woods before and she couldn't risk going out into the open where Elisabeth could get to her. She needed to find somewhere to wait until the sun came up and then she'd trail her way back to the manor. But she couldn't wait in the woods forever; she needed somewhere a little more stable, and a little less obvious.

'Melania.' Purred Elisabeth, but her voice was echoing around the trees and the dark haired huntress had no idea where the chilling voice was coming from.

'Melania, I can hear your heartbeat, it is racing out of control dear, are you afraid?'

Melania felt a surge of anger well through her; Elisabeth was teasing her as she hunted her!

'You needn't be afraid, I can bring you back to be like me.'

And with that simple sentence Elisabeth Bathory hit on Melania's greatest fear, becoming the monsters that she hunted.

'Your heart has sped up even faster, won't you come out and play, and stop teasing.' The insane vampiress sounded like a put out child and Melania could feel hot tears well up behind her eyes, she wasn't strong enough for this.

'There you are.' And the glint of her hunter's eyes became apparent to Melania as she stepped out from her hiding place.

'What do you want, Elisabeth?'

'Your life.' Was the cold reply and Melania felt her heart rate speed up some more but she refused to let it show on her face; she didn't give a damn if Elisabeth could hear it.

'You can't have it.' And with that she lunged at the corpse before her, the lucky dagger in her hand, already stained with the vampiress' blood. She managed to get in a hit to Elisabeth's stomach, drawing blood before the vampiress could leap backwards.

Elisabeth looked down at the red mark and tear in her dress and hissed in annoyance more than pain before leaping at Melania and tackling her to the ground.

The pair hit the forest floor with a loud crash, shattering twigs and leaves as they battled for dominance. Elisabeth's teeth were bared and Melania was doing her best to throw her off, her dagger glinting against the dead leaves and ice a few feet away from the pair of battling women.

Elisabeth let loose a punch and Melania saw stars twinkle before her eyes. She let her arms flail wildly and then her fist connected and Elisabeth flew to the left. Melania rolled over to her stomach and army-crawled across the dirt to try and reach her weapon but Elisabeth latched onto her ankle before she could reach it and lifted her up into the air.

'Before this is over, I will kill you.' Was the screamed battle cry as Elisabeth grew her wings and lifted off into the sky, dragging a bleeding and dizzied Melania to her castle.

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'Melania! Melania!'

'Shut up Ivan, she's long gone by now.' Hissed Gabriel in annoyance, in no mood to have another run in with Garm; he could still smell the deathly stench of the blood that matted the dog's fur.

'Where?' snapped Ivan, frustrated.

'To Dracula's castle.' Replied Gabriel, annoyance in his voice.

'Which is where?' growled Ivan in response as he took a step closer to the muscular monster hunter.

'Well, we're not entirely sure.' Piped up Carl, trying to keep a fight from breaking out between the two men.

'Why not?!' demanded Ivan and Gabriel's jaw tightened.

'Look, I know you're worried, but there is nothing you can do by yelling either at Carl or myself. We'll find her.' He was trying to be reassuring, but the comment came out with a little more bark than entirely necessary.

'Its your fault in the first place that she's gone.' Replied Ivan with equal bite; he was scared and wanted nothing more than to blame someone for his missing sister.

'I tried to help her!' Gabriel roared as he spun on his heel, fire in his eyes. Ivan stood equally as straight, a matching flame in his gaze and Carl stepped between the two of them.

'Right now we need to find Dracula's castle, not argue whose fault this is.' He placated calmly, pushing the two men a little further apart to stave off bloodshed. Gabriel and Ivan glared daggers for a few more moments until Ivan's look softened.

'He's right, we have to find Melania before its too late.'

Gabriel sighed and ran a hand down his face before nodding in agreement.

'Your right, c'mon, we'll have to track them, though it may be a little more difficult since they took off in the air.'

Ivan and Carl followed Gabriel, as he watched the ground before him in rapt attention, praying silently that they would find her before she got hurt, because if they didn't, he would never forgive himself.


	5. Death May Come

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Melania had never been so scared in all her life. She had thought that surviving Elisabeth's dungeon the first time would have made her the strongest she could be, but she was wrong. This was terrifying. She wasn't in the air anymore, but she would spend the rest of her life suspended in mid-air if God would deliver her from the fate that was sure to meet her inside the castle that loomed before her.

'Let go of me.' She tried to struggle out of the vampiress' tight grasp but she was too weak, she was too scared, she couldn't get her body to cooperate and she knew that there was no way she was going to get out of here alive, unless a miracle happened.

'Now my dear Melania, you must stop struggling. You know elevated heartbeats are hard for me to ignore.' Purred Elisabeth against the struggling monster hunter's neck, her cold breath brushing against sensitive skin.

'Let go of me, or I will kill you.' She growled in response, renewing her struggles to get away.

'Now Melania, no need to be so hostile.' Came a new voice, soft and smooth, but deadly and it sent shivers down Melania's spine.

'Tell her to let me go.'

The owner of the new voice made an appearance at the top of the stairs. He was a handsome man, not a day over thirty, his hair and eyes dark, his skin pale. He walked with the air of a gentleman and spoke with dignity. Melania felt her heart start to race even harder, she knew who this was, she could tell just by looking at him, not to mention the look that Elisabeth was sending him. He was Dracula.

'I'm not afraid of you.' Was the first thing she could think to say as he descended the stairs and came to stand in front of her, so close that she could feel the cold emanate off of him.

'Your heart, dares to disagree.' He purred at her, leaning in and inhaling her fear like it was the most delicate perfume he had ever smelled. She jerked away from him, and Elisabeth's grip tightened around her arms as Dracula smiled at her.

'Elisabeth was right, you really are a spitfire.'

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'Van Helsing, if they took off to the sky, how will we find them?' asked Ivan quietly as he followed the monster hunter through unfamiliar woods.

'We might be able to find signs of a struggle, or something she dropped while in the air, we will find her.'

'What's that?' asked Carl as he caught a glint in the snow.

'A dagger.' Remarked Gabriel as he hit the ground on his knees, picking up the glinting weapon as though it were made of delicate porcelain.

'Its Melania's, see the seal on the handle? It's our family's seal.' Whispered Ivan, a taste of hope in his voice.

'Melania? Melania!' called Ivan.

'Ivan, hush, she isn't here.' His voice was soft but commanding as he ran a hand along the ground, tracing the struggle.

'How do you know that?' asked Ivan, kneeling down to where Gabriel was, his grey eyes tracing where Gabriel's hands were.

'They struggled, and then, Melania was lifted back into the air, she must have gotten Elisabeth to let go, look, there's blood on the dagger.'

'You're sure its Elisabeth's and not Melania's?' asked Ivan, fear in his voice again.

'Yes, there would be more if Melania had been hurt, this cut must have occurred in the air, see, there isn't any on the ground.'

'So she isn't hurt?'

'Not yet.'

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'Melania, I do wish you had been able to come earlier, the house was cleaner then.' Joked Dracula, and Melania felt bile rise quickly in her throat, Dracula was treating her like a guest and not like a meal, which was what she was to him.

'What do you want?' she wanted to know what was going to happen to her.

'You dear, only you.' Was his purred reply and she felt her heart drop down towards her toes, she was going to die here.

'Why?'

'You're the one that got away, you were so sweet, the blood so rich, and smooth, I wanted to taste all of you, but I wanted your flavor to wash down the disgusting tang of the others, but then you ran away. I could have ended the suffering Melania.'

'The suffering you inflicted.' Was the sharp response and Elisabeth dug her nails into Melania's arms, drawing blood.

'I could inflict more, if you wish.'

'Let me go.'

'I have waited a lifetime for this Melania, and I will not be robbed of this moment.'

'You don't want to do this.' Melania could feel the tears rise just like the bile.

'But I really think I do.' Murmured Elisabeth as she bent over her prey's arm and licked the blood from the wounds she had just inflicted.

'Mm, the best I have had in a long while.' She purred throatily and Melania had never felt so disgusted or so used in all her life.

'I wish you an eternity in hell.' She growled low, directing the contempt towards both undead before her.

'I have been, no need to revisit.' Replied Dracula with a grim smile and Melania wished her arms free so that she could attack him.

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'No, for the last time, there is no castle or mansion or house anywhere in these woods, if there was we would know, Melania and I have lived here a long time, we knew what was on the property when our parents bought it.' Ivan was adamant that he was right, but Gabriel wasn't so sure.

'Is there somewhere on the property line that exists?'

'No, there is nothing out there where Dracula or Elisabeth could live, let alone together.' Replied Ivan tiredly as he dragged a hand down his face.

'There must be something out there Ivan, Elisabeth wouldn't risk a long flight with someone as precious to her as Melania, she has somewhere close.'

'There is nothing out here.' Replied Ivan, anger creeping into his controlled tone as he and Gabriel stood toe to toe.

'Then there is something out here that you do not know about, is there somewhere on the property where a building could exist?' asked Gabriel with a sigh, trying to keep his own fear and anger at bay.

'Yes, there are several places where a building could exist, but there isn't anything out there, we would know it.'

'Ivan, I know you love your sister, and I know you want to help her, where could there be a building?'

'Just a few miles from here, another hour and a half walk.' He replied quietly and Gabriel smiled softly.

'Okay, that's good, that's good. Lets go.' He turned on his heel, pocketing the dagger, Ivan and Carl following behind him silently, all three men praying to God that Melania would be alive when they found her.

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'This is where you'll stay, my dear.' Purred Dracula as Elisabeth shoved her forward into the dank cell.

'Why are you doing this? If you want blood, you can have it. I won't hunt you.'

'I want your blood, Melania, only yours. There is no deal.' Elisabeth growled low as she slammed the bared door shut.

'Please, I won't hunt you, I won't.' she cried out, her fear overwhelming her sense of pride and dignity.

'Don't beg Melania, it isn't very becoming of a beautiful woman your age.' Remarked Dracula as he and Elisabeth left, arm in arm, up the set of stone steps and closed the door behind them, enveloping the room in an impenetrable darkness that made Melania feel as though she was stuck in a horrid nightmare with no hope of waking up.

'Gabriel, where are you?' she whispered into the darkness as she huddled against the damp stone wall behind her, trying to keep herself calm and her imagination under control.

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'Ugh, do you smell that?' asked Ivan as he covered his nose with his sleeve, Carl and Gabriel quickly following suit.

'What is that?' asked Carl as a low growl reverberated throughout the woods and Gabriel felt his stomach drop.

'Garm.'

'What?' asked Ivan just before the giant dog came bounding from the dark woods around them, leaping towards the three men.

'Look out!' Gabriel shoved his companions to the side as Garm's giant paws hit him square in the chest and the pair tumbled to the icy forest floor with a loud crash. The dog was barking and drooling, and Gabriel was trying to get him off but he couldn't get a good grip in the bloody fur of the giant dog on top of him.

'Carl! Help!' he called to his best friend, but Carl could only stand there in slight shock and fear. He had no weapons.

'Carl, the tree.' Called Ivan as he ran over towards a towering pine and began pulling as hard as he could on a thick, needle covered branch. Carl hurried over to the younger man and with their combined weight they were able to snap the branch right off the tree. Together they picked it up and ran it over towards the struggling man and managed to knock the large, blood covered dog off of him.

Garm skidded over the ice and slammed into another snow-covered pine, shaking the foundation of it and knocking large mounds of snow off the branches.

Gabriel quickly stood and pulled out Melania's dagger, intent on finishing off the dog once and for all, but he didn't get the chance. Garm ran for it, skidding through the trees, his barks shaking the packed ground beneath their feet.

'What was that?' asked Ivan.

'Garm.'

'Garm! What is he doing away from the gates?'

'Elisabeth took him from Hel.' Replied Gabriel absentmindedly as he brushed the cold snow off his clothes and tried to get the blood off his hands.

'Oh my God, this is worse than we could have imagined, without a guard to the gates of Helheim, the souls will escape.'

'All of them?' asked Gabriel in slight fear, understanding why Melania had been so scared.

'Yes.'

'Oh my God, we better find Melania as soon as possible.' Stated Carl as he and the other two men started off in the original direction they had been going in, all of them praying that they would find Melania in time to save her.


	6. Saved?

Hey guys, hope you liked it, sorry for taking so long, read and review.

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Melania shivered as the damp and the cold seeped into her very soul and sent shivers down her spine. She always knew that she would die, and had resigned herself to the fate that enraptured all of man, but she had never imagined that it would be like this. Had never imagined that she'd be so scared.

Not much scared her, and even if it did, she never admitted it, but she would admit her fear in front of all that she knew if it would get her out of here. She didn't want to die here, of all places, in the dungeons of two deranged vampires who were only there to drain her day after day until she became too weak, or too old, and then they'd kill her.

It was a game of cat and mouse, and she was the mouse. She hated being the mouse, she was used to being the cat, the one with the weapons and the speed, the deadly precision, how had she gotten herself into this situation?

Normally she could take down a vampire without any hesitation or problem, but Elisabeth made her freeze, made her tense and she couldn't move, couldn't breathe, her own lungs betraying her and ceasing to function. Even when she had been alive, Elisabeth had inflicted fear into her victims, some of them just wishing so hard to die that they passed on before the blood was even drained. Melania didn't want that fate to be hers; she couldn't believe that God had saved her from the original slaughter only to have her die in the end, by the hands that she had escaped almost twenty years before. He had humor but she refused to believe that His sense of humor would be so cruel, especially since she had done all she could to rid the world of the Devil's puppets.

"Dear God, please help me." She whispered into the darkness of her cell as she cramped herself into the corner, hoping with every fiber in her being that God would listen and send her Gabriel.

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"We'll never find her this way, it will take too long, she could be dead by now." Growled Ivan under his breath as he and Carl followed an already irritated Gabriel.

"I can hear you." He called from the front of their line and Ivan rolled his eyes.

"Gabriel, even if we do find the castle, or mansion, or whatever it is that is supposedly out here, how are we supposed to battle Dracula? He was been vanquished once already, by you, you can't do it again, not the same way you did it the last time." Ivan voice was tired, but still held a snap of impatience and annoyance.

"I've told you, we will do everything possible to save your sister." Replied Gabriel, his own annoyance palpable just in the way he walked, not to mention it emanated from his voice like a deadly poison.

"What if everything possible isn't enough?"

"It will be."

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Melania found herself rocking back and forth, her knees drawn up to her chin and her arms locked around her legs. She tried her hardest to think of anything and everything but her current predicament. It wasn't working. It was merely bringing up memories of the past and a very strong sense of déjà vu as she heard the screams of the girls that had at one time surrounded her.

Their pleas for mercy reverberated off the walls and in her brain, she couldn't shake away their terror or her own. She couldn't do anything to save them or to save herself, she was going to die in this place and no matter what she did or said she couldn't stop it.

"Melania."

Disembodied voices pleaded with her, some sounded angry, others wistful, and some were just full of a terror that turned Melania's blood to ice in her veins. She tried to will the voices away, knowing that it was a guilty conscience playing tricks on her, that there were no voices and there were no screams of terror, yet Elisabeth's words echoed around that thought.

"I borrowed him from Hel, the guardian of Helheim, after I killed her of course. His name is Garm, and at one time he guarded death's gate."

The escaped souls of her friends were coming back to haunt her.

"Melania."

They whispered to her, trying to get her attention, trying to get her to go insane, but she wouldn't let them win. She couldn't let them win, she needed to get out, she needed to get out or she just might succumb to the fear and death that was threatening to consume her whole.

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"Is this it?" asked Carl as he reached where Van Helsing was standing, a large stone castle looming in front of them, its Gothic architecture blending into the gloomy scenery rather well.

"It must be." Replied Gabriel as he noticed Ivan's shocked expression.

"This has never been here before, how…?" he trailed off, his brain unable to grasp that a stone castle had been built on his property without his knowledge.

"Well, it's here now, and Melania is inside, c'mon." gestured Gabriel as he started forward, pulling Melania's bloody dagger from his bag and holding it tightly in his right hand, begging for God to give him a chance to use it.

"Van Helsing, shouldn't we have a plan?" asked Ivan as he and Carl jogged to keep up with the much larger strides of the monster hunter before them.

"We go in, save Melania, I kill anything in our path." He replied curtly and Ivan and Carl exchanged dark looks.

"I like it. Simple. Easy to remember." Muttered Carl as they reached the large, ornate front doors of the castle.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"No."

"Oh great."

Gabriel pushed on the wooden door in front of him, his fingers slipping into the worn grooves of the designs carved on the front as it slowly creaked open. He winced at the noise it made, but knowing it couldn't be helped decided to ignore it for now and worry about finding and rescuing Melania before Elisabeth or Dracula realized that they were there.

"She would be in a dungeon most likely." Supplied Carl, pointing down towards the floor to emphasize his point of Melania underground and Gabriel nodded before holding a single finger to his lips as a sign to be quiet. Carl nodded in return and Ivan gave his own curt nod to show that he understood before following the two men in front of him further into the foyer of the castle.

"If there is a dungeon, I imagine that it would be a door in a hallway, something inconspicuous." Whispered Ivan and Gabriel nodded in agreement, pointing to the door in front of them.

Ivan and Carl exchanged looks; it all seemed too easy, too obvious. But before they could stop him, Van Helsing pushed the door open, revealing a dark room. Nothing much could be seen so he took a step further inside and then something growled and bright eyes were seen.

"Oh." Carl held a sleeve up to his nose to block out the now familiar stench and Gabriel quickly lunged backwards out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him, not the least bit worried about alerting anyone to their presence anymore.

Garm lunged for the door, rattling the hinges with his barking alone and the three men took off down the hall, running as fast as their feet would carry them.

"Van Helsing, I don't think that was the dungeon!"

"Yes, thank you Carl."

Garm knocked the door clean off its hinges with one final lunge and took off after the three men, recognizing their scent and wanting to finish the job that he had started back in the woods.

"In here!" yelled Gabriel as he opened the nearest door, yanking Carl and Ivan in after him and slamming the door, sliding the deadbolt shut and leaning against the wood to catch his breath.

"Why won't that dog die?" wondered Carl aloud and a small voice answered them.

"He guards the gate of death, he isn't alive."

"Melania?" asked Ivan, his voice full of hope as Gabriel took a torch off the wall and lit it with a match from his back pocket. He held their only source of light up to get a better look at the room they were in. There was a set of stairs just a few steps away from where he was standing and at the bottom of these stairs were several rows of cells. The only one filled was the nearest one. The prisoner was huddled in the corner, her knees pulled up to her chin and her arms locked around her legs as though to calm herself.

"Melania!" all three men were relieved to find her alive, and seemingly unharmed.

Ivan tore down the steps, jumping the last few and running to his sister's cell, reaching through the bars for her. She leapt to her own feet and met him, their hug a little awkward due to the bars, but full of love nonetheless.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" Melania exclaimed as she hugged her brother and then reached out an arm to greet the other two men.

"I know, I kept trying to think of anything else." Replied Ivan, tears filling his stormy grey eyes.

"You can have a reunion later, hurry, we have to get you out of here, Garm is causing quite the scene." Murmured Gabriel as he gently pushed Ivan to the side and studied the lock on Melania's cell critically. Finally he sighed and pulled out his pistol, shooting the lock and twisting the metal enough for the lock to be ripped free. The door swung open on its own and Melania leapt from her confines and into his arms.

"Oh!" was his exclamation of surprise as he very suddenly found his embrace full of the female monster hunter.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear as she hugged him tightly, and he hesitated for a moment before hugging her back gently.

"You're welcome." He answered her.

"All right you two, we can have a celebration later, let's get out of here." Teased Ivan as the pair separated, both looking mildly embarrassed at their sudden display of affection.

"Sounds good to me, I was starting to hear things down here." Replied Melania, shivering at the mere memory, and at the fact that she could still faintly here them now.

"Hurry, Elisabeth and Dracula must know that we're here."

"We must." Dracula's voice rang through the room and the two monster hunters, Ivan and Carl spun around to look at him as he stood on the top of the stone steps, Elisabeth on his arm and Garm at his side.

"Good evening Gabriel."

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Bum, bum, bum! Cliffhanger! I know, I am evil, but I was having such trouble with this chapter that I could only really write half of it and get it to turn out at least halfway to where I want this to end up. This story is harder to connect than I thought. But anyway, I tried and I hope you like it.

Read and Review

Andrew's Slinky


	7. Endings that don't really finish

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Hey guys, I am back and better than ever. I hope that your holiday season was great, mine was. And I tried really hard for this chapter to be good, not so sure if it is, but I guess that I should let you decide that, without further ado, Melania of Russia chapter seven.

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"Good evening Gabriel."

The four people at the bottom of the steps froze in a combination of shock and fear, allowing the two vampires and their Hell-dog to start down the stone steps towards them. And with every step the undead couple took, the four beating hearts took a step back, every single one of them fearful of the danger the pair before them could inflict.

"Have you come to kill me again?" asked Dracula with a small chuckle to his voice as he pierced the muscular monster hunter with his dark eyes, surveying his movements with a small and grim satisfaction.

"If you give me a reason." Replied Gabriel somewhat viciously as he took a step forward, still afraid but pushing it away and effectively blocking Dracula's path to the others.

"Now, now Gabriel, no need to be so vicious, I only want the girl. Hand her over, and the rest of you can go." Dracula held out an expectant hand with a small smile.

"We aren't going to do that." It was Ivan who spoke this time, a protective arm going out to block his sister from the rest of the room.

"I have tried to be cordial to all of you, and yet you still give me grief. Hand over the girl." He was starting to get impatient and it showed in his voice.

"Never going to happen." Replied Gabriel, fire lighting his dark hazel eyes and Dracula gave him an incredulous yet amused look.

"Gabriel, you couldn't save the last one, is that what makes you so determined to keep this beauty safe?" he asked, knowingly touching a very sensitive nerve.

"Anna has nothing to do with this." Gabriel growled in response, true anger seeping through to his voice and stance and it took all the self-control he had to stop himself from lunging at Dracula and putting the dagger on his belt to use.

"Oh Gabriel, you are a very bad liar," broke in Elisabeth and Melania visibly shuddered at the sound of the vampiress' silky voice, "you had feelings for this Anna, just like you have feelings for Melania."

Melania looked from the dark-haired beauty before her to Gabriel and the pair exchanged a look that had them both looking away in fear and embarrassment.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice, oh my dears, one day you will understand, when you come back to be like me." Continued Elisabeth, reading the looks and reactions of the people before her, her voice telling them that she held them in a much lower bracket of respect and intelligence.

"I will never be like you." Replied Melania, a deadly confidence to her voice that had even Dracula flinching.

"Melania, you will be my favorite pet, your blood will keep me young and beautiful forever, would you like that? Would that comfort you?"

"Go to hell!" and with that shouted Melania lunged forward, grabbing her lucky dagger from Gabriel as she went, and knocking Elisabeth to the ground. Dracula turned to help and Gabriel leapt in between them to distract the male vampire, giving Melania a slightly higher chance of winning her fight.

Both Carl and Ivan looked from fighting pair to fighting pair and they both knew that stepping in to help would only hinder their friends so they both took a step back, prepared to help if needed but knowing that was a slim chance of happening.

Melania was on top of Elisabeth punching every inch of the insane vampiress that she could reach, screams of fury echoing along the stone walls of the room around them, mixing in the air with the grunts from Gabriel and Dracula, trailed by the fearsome barks of Garm, who seemed not to understand what was happening to his mistress.

Gabriel was trying his best to fend off Dracula and his elongated teeth, but was having trouble without any weapons or the enhanced strength that he had had as a werewolf.

"Face it Gabriel, you cannot win this time." Smiled Dracula as he shoved the muscular monster-hunter backwards, knocking him into the wall. Blood seeped from his head as he tumbled to the stone floor and he tried his hardest to stand, but everything was starting to go black, and the room was spinning unmercifully. Dracula stalked towards his prey, a cold and unnatural grin on his handsome face.

Elisabeth managed to get a hit of her own in, knocking Melania backwards and the dagger flying from her hand. Both huntress and dagger hit the stone floor with loud cracks; sliding back across the cold, grey material to land by the far wall.

"Ow." Murmured Melania as she placed trembling fingers to the back of her head to assess the damage then she could hear her name being shouted by her brother, but this was her fight, and she wasn't giving in, not now, not when she was so close to making the nightmares disappear once and for all.

"Stay back Ivan!" she shouted as Elisabeth lunged forward, landing on top of the huntress, her hands going around her throat. Melania twisted and turned and tried her hardest to get out of the other woman's grasp, but she knew that it was futile; the vampiress was just too strong for her to twist her way out of it.

With a strangled cry and the last bit of her strength Melania let loose a right hook, connecting with Elisabeth's jaw and effectively knocking the brunette on top of her to the side and onto the floor. Melania quickly twisted, spinning over and out of the vampiress' strong grasp, grabbing her dagger that was now only a few inches from her outstretched hand.

"I wished you an eternity in hell." She reached out and plunged the dagger deep into Elisabeth's heart, "And I am a woman of my word."

Elisabeth cried out, attracting the attention of Dracula, making him turn away from a still bleeding and dizzy Gabriel to watch her body start to shake and twist, her mouth open in a scream for help but no sound escaped and then she turned to ash, crumbling in a dark heap on the floor at Melania's feet.

Dracula watched his beloved crumble into dust and cried out in a pain that he had never experienced before; loss. He lunged at Melania and she ducked. He spun in the air and developed his wings, changing before their eyes and bursting through the door at the top of the stairs, out into the night like some twisted black swan.

"Melania, are you all right?" asked Ivan as he reached his still trembling sister, grabbing her shoulders gently and pulling her close.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." She replied somewhat in a daze, not sure if what had just happened was a delusion or not.

"You did it." It was Gabriel's voice this time. Melania looked over at him to watch as Carl helped him up.

"We did it, if you hadn't been here, hadn't come after me…" she shook her head.

"It was never an option." He broke in and she smiled, a real, heartfelt smile.

"Thank you Mr. Van Helsing, I owe you my life." She told him as she walked over to where he was and held out a hand in a gesture of friendship.

"I was only doing my job." He replied somewhat off handedly, unsure of how to respond to the woman before him. He was never thanked in his line of work, usually he was run out of the town with shouts of him being a murderer and then he got in trouble at the Vatican for not being discreet enough. True and honest appreciation and thanks for his work was something he didn't have experience with.

"Of course." She sounded somewhat hurt as she pulled her hand away and he suddenly felt an uncomfortable twisting in his stomach.

"Um, not to be the bearer of bad news, but, Dracula is still out there and Garm is still in here." Broke in Carl, a slight shake to his voice as he viewed the large and bloodstained dog before him.

"Right, we have to return him to the gates." Nodded Ivan and Melania looked over at him in surprise.

"Elisabeth said she killed Hel, without someone to watch and take care of him, he will not be able to guard the gate or bring in the fresh souls."

"So we need Hel's replacement."

"I suppose."

Gabriel groaned, feeling the splitting headache he'd had just a few seconds before grow into something truly unbearable.

"Well, there isn't much we can do tonight, we have to get the both of you back to the manor, and get some medical attention brought to the both of you. Tonight we will rest, and in the morning we will find a way to return Garm." Ivan was the voice of reason and Melania smiled at her brother in appreciation.

"Yes, Ivan's right, we need to rest and recharge, tomorrow we will visit Baba Yaga. She will know what to do." Melania nodded as if to finalize her plan, and then, wrapping an arm around Gabriel's waist to steady him, and to help Carl with his weight, the four friends started up the great stone steps that would lead them into something they all desperately craved, freedom.

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They reached the manor without any major accidents and only a few more scratches, due to the low and large branches of the pine trees that infested the forest. Garm had followed them all the way, without attacking and without barking, seeming to understand that these people were his new masters, at least for now.

"Miss Melania!" Lilia lunged from her place in the doorway and hugged the woman that she had become wonderful friends with.

"Lilia." Replied Melania as she let go of Gabriel to hug the woman back.

"Goodness, are all of you all right?" the blonde servant asked as she let go of her dark-haired friend and viewed the mass of scratches and blood that covered the four people before her. Then her eyes widened even more when she took in the sight of Garm and his blood covered fur.

"Yes, we'll be fine, could you bring the medical kit?" asked Melania as she and Carl helped a still dizzy Gabriel over the threshold of the manor and started towards the nearest couch in the next room.

"Of course." Bowed Lilia, still looking at the dog questioningly, but she trusted her family and she rushed to the kitchen, searching frantically through the cabinets for the medical kit that they had for emergencies.

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"Are you okay?" asked Melania as she helped Gabriel sit on the couch. Carl took off to help Lilia search for the medical kit and Ivan led Garm off towards one of the stables to give him a place to sleep for the night and something to eat and drink.

"I think so." He replied, somewhat embarrassed that he had to be taken care of by the very woman he had been sent to protect.

"You're not bleeding anymore, that's good. But you'll probably need a few stitches." She assessed the damage to the back of his head, pressing her body into his so she was able to see and he tried his hardest not to concentrate on the warmth that spread through his body. So he opened his mouth to ask her a question and distract himself.

"Who is Baba Yaga?"

She pulled away from him, taking her heat with her and smiled down at him before sitting beside him.

"She's a witch that I met quite a few years ago. She knows everything there is to know about things like the underworld and vampires, demons, werewolves she's a magnet for the supernatural. So, she promised to help me in exchange for me not killing her. And I told her that she had to stop cannibalizing and I'd not kill her."

"She's a cannibal!" he asked loudly and she placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Shh, she was a cannibal, I check in on her, and she hasn't had human flesh in all the years that I've known her, ever since our deal, she's bound to honor her word, and as long as she honors hers, I will honor mine and not kill her." She explained and he nodded.

"So, she'll know what to do?" he asked her, unsure if he liked this idea.

"Yes, she will be able to divine who Hel's successor is, and we'll find her, and then give her Garm and hopefully, she'll be able to take all the souls back." She told him, revealing the only plan that she could think of.

"Is that the plan?" he asked her a little mockingly and she giggled.

"Yes, it isn't much, but its all we have right now, besides, without someone to guard the gate, souls will come back and infest the world, breaking the chain of life and death, something that no one wants, not good or evil." She shivered at the mere suggestion of a permanently open gate and it made a chill run down Gabriel's own back.

"And Baba Yaga will definitely be able to tell who is supposed to take over the gate, right?" he asked her, sounding a bit skeptical of the witch and her powers.

"Theoretically? Yes." She nodded, sounding a bit unsure of herself.

"Miss Melania?" broke in Lilia as she entered the room, medical kit in her hand.

"Oh, thank you Lilia, why don't you go out to the stables and check on my brother, he had a few scratches."

"Of course." Replied Lilia, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips and Melania smiled herself as she turned towards Gabriel, opening the kit on her lap.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" asked Carl, appearing in the doorway.

"He'll be just fine, we all will be, why don't you get some rest Carl?" suggested Melania as she pulled out a shiny silver needle and some thread.

"Are you sure?" asked the friar, his stomach turning at the sight of the needle, he knew what it was going to be used for.

"Yes, I can handle this." She nodded and he quickly left the room, his stomach churning.

"Seemed a bit squeamish, don't you think?" she giggled as she threaded the needle and Gabriel smiled himself, he knew first hand that Carl was about as squeamish as they got and used the same excuse every time he was teased about it "I'm not a field man!"

"Why did you send Lilia after your brother?" he asked her as she kneeled on the couch next to him and made him turn his head so she could get a good look at his wound.

"Lilia and Ivan have been flirting and dancing around each other since I can remember, they're old enough now." She replied as she dabbed at the dried blood with a damp cloth.

"Ow, so you want them together?"

"My parents wouldn't have liked it, since Lilia is just a servant, but I like them together, they are good for each other." She answered as she finished cleaning his wound and pulled out the needle.

"This is going to hurt." She warned him and he nodded, bracing himself against the arm of the couch, his eyes shut tightly.

Melania took a deep, and slightly shaky breath, before plunging the needle into his skin. He bit down on his tongue to keep from crying out in pain and she tried to move as quickly as possible to minimize the length of the procedure.

"I'm sorry." He murmured to her and she stopped in her movements.

"Sorry about what?" she asked him and he winced again as she restarted her sewing.

"About earlier when I didn't shake your hand, I…" he trailed off as the pain hit again.

"I'm not used to being thanked." He managed a few moments later and she smiled to herself at the vulnerability in his voice.

"It isn't a problem, you needn't be sorry. I understand you not being used to the treatment, after all many here call you a murderer."

"Oh?" he didn't sound that interested.

"Some call you a holy man." She continued as though he had never answered her.

"And what do you call me?" he asked her as she finished her sewing and tied off the thread before cutting it.

"I call you Gabriel." She replied softly as she placed a bandage over the stitches.

"All finished." She told him as she got off the couch and collected the instruments she had used to heal him.

He was still seated in shock. No one had ever given him such a simple answer before. She just called him Gabriel, it was his name, and as far as she was concerned he was just a man with a somewhat dangerous job, no need to label him.

"You can get some sleep now, actually you probably should, the sun will come up soon." She told him when she came back from putting away the medical kit to find him still sitting on the couch.

"Melania?" he asked her as he stood and she looked up at him, their gazes locking.

"Yes Gabriel?"

He smiled at the sound of his name on her lips, opened his mouth to reply and chickened out.

"Good night."

She looked a little disappointed but quickly covered it with a smile.

"Sweet dreams." She responded and he gave her one last smile and nod before leaving the room and heading up the stairs.

Melania sighed to herself and grabbed the bottle of whiskey sitting on the shelf beside her. She popped the cork off and sat heavily on the couch, taking a long drink from the dark green bottle. The one night where she didn't need to worry about Elisabeth and her mind was still not at ease. It was filled with thoughts, both innocent and not so innocent, of the muscular, hazel-eyed monster hunter that had just vanished up the stairs. She wasn't going to get much sleep tonight, but then, what else was new?

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Wow! That was a really long chapter, and I was going to have them all be captured by Elisabeth and Dracula but then Melania was lunging and there was fighting and before I knew it, Elisabeth could fit in a dust buster. Not something I planned, but sometimes the characters take you places you didn't expect. Hope you all liked it. Next chapter, some Lilia/Ivan action, and Baba Yaga. As always, read and review babies.

Andrew's Slinky


	8. Romanced or Dissappointed?

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Hey guys, I'm back, read and review.

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Lilia headed down the dark stone steps and out into the chilly night air, walking towards the one empty stable where she was sure she would find Ivan and Garm.

"Master Ivan?" she called delicately once she reached the stable door, her blonde hair falling into slightly fearful eyes as Garm's head picked up from a pile of straw and stared at her.

"Lilia, what are you doing out here?" asked Ivan as he appeared from across the stable, a large bowl in his hand that was filled with what Lilia could only assume was water.

"Melania sent me to make sure that you had everything you needed." She replied, a soft blush tracing her cheeks as Ivan walked closer to her.

"I'll be fine, it is freezing outside, please, come in." he gestured her through the door as he set the large water dish down in front of Garm, who lapped up the clear liquid greedily.

"Thank you." She replied gently as she came further in the door, closing the large wooden plank closed behind her.

"Are you sure that you're all right? You have some nasty scratches." She observed, questioning him gently.

"Nothing some brandy won't cure." He smiled impishly at her and she returned his grin, warmth spreading through her.

"You look absolutely frozen, here." And he slipped his coat off his own broad shoulders to settle over her much slimmer ones, his warm hands lingering longer than was entirely necessary.

"Thank you." Lilia tightened the dark colored garment around herself, inhaling the scent on the collar.

"Of course." He replied, standing just in front of her, their gazes locked. He took a small step towards her and she smiled gently, if a little off-handedly, at him.

"Lilia, when we were out there all I could think of was Melania and I…I must admit that I was scared."

She placed a reassuring hand on his arm.

"It is all right to be scared for the ones you love." She told him, wondering how it would feel if she were placed into that category.

He took another step closer to her and she could feel her breath catch in her throat, her mind racing through several scenarios as his warm breath traced her lips.

"Ivan…" her voice was soft and slightly shaky as his lips got closer and closer to her own.

He didn't answer her, he merely leaned in some more and she let her eyes slide shut expecting to feel his warm lips on her own only to feel cold air and something wet against her leg.

"Oh!" she let out a surprised gasp, looking down quickly. Garm had gotten up and was now standing between the two people, his eyes soft and his long tail wagging happily.

Ivan sighed, running a hand across his face in frustration before looking down at the offending creature.

"Garm, now is time to sleep." He told the dog, pointing over to the large pile of hay that had been arranged just for the large dog.

Garm stretched his neck out and licked Ivan's outstretched hand before following orders and curling up in the hay, his eyes sliding shut as his tail kept wagging.

"Lilia, I'm sorry, I…" He started in apology only to find that Lilia was already gone, headed back towards the house. He sighed heavily, sent one last vicious look at the now slumbering beast that had ruined the moment, and headed back towards the house himself, shutting the large stable door behind him, thinking that the sooner they returned the blood matted beast the better off they would all be.

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Melania was still sitting on the couch, the large whiskey bottle in hand when Lilia came in, a blush still burning her cheeks and Ivan's coat around her shoulders.

"Lilia?" asked Melania in slight alarm when the blonde woman didn't acknowledge her and instead just started up the large steps that would lead to her bedroom.

"Yes?" replied Lilia, her blonde hair falling to cover her face as she kept her head down.

"Is everything all right?"

"Its fine, I do not wish to talk about it, good night." Lilia nodded in acknowledgement of the woman still on the couch before bounding up the stairs in a speed that Melania had never seen her use.

Ivan entered just a few moments after Lilia had disappeared up the stairs and Melania fixed him with a frosty glare.

"What did you do?" she asked him, her green eyes flashing in protectiveness for her friend.

"Nothing, I…she was so close and she smelled so good, but then that damn dog!" Ivan swore violently in his native Russian before plopping down onto the couch beside his sister and grabbing the whiskey bottle from her hand, swallowing a large portion of it in one swig.

"Ivan, did you try to kiss her?" accused Melania with a joy to her voice and her brother favored her with a look that always made her feel a bit guilty, even when she hadn't done anything.

"I…that damn dog." He swore again before taking another long draught of the alcohol in his hand.

Melania chuckled to herself at her brother's expense before patting his knee in a motion of reassurance and stood on her own two feet.

"Good night Ivan." She whispered gently before heading up the stairs to her own bedroom, a small smile on her face.

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"So where exactly does this Baba Yaga live?" asked Gabriel as he and Melania stood beside their respective horses, readying them for the ride ahead of them.

"A few miles outside of town, we should reach there by nightfall." She replied as she ran a hand down the white streak that adorned the nose of her pure black mare.

"Nightfall?" he reiterated, a slight surprise to his voice.

"Yes, Gabriel, nightfall." She replied, a small smile to her voice.

"Very well. Are you sure that she will know who Garm's newest mistress will be?"

"Yes. Baba Yaga knows almost everything there is to know about things like these, trust me Gabriel, it will all work out."

Gabriel looked over at the woman standing so close and yet so far away and quickly closed some of the space between them.

"Gabriel." His name was a mere gasp on her lips as she found herself pressed gently between the wall of the stable and the tall monster hunter before her.

"When we lost you, when I lost you, I have to admit that I was scared." He told her gently, finally getting off his chest what he had been too cowardly to admit the night before. She just stared at him for a moment or two before trusting herself to open her mouth.

"It is all right to be scared sometimes." She told him gently, unwittingly repeating some of the conversation that had transpired between her best friend and brother in the stable just a few feet over the night before.

"I never get scared when people disappear, not usually, I do my best to save them, but I've never really had a stake in their lives before." He admitted to her and she felt a tightening in her chest.

"Most things don't scare people like us, we've lost so much already that it doesn't seem worth it." She replied, acknowledging that she knew the feeling well.

"Do you think that you'll ever find someone that is worth feeling for?" he asked her and she smiled.

"I feel for Ivan, and for Lilia, and…I feel for you." She admitted, and the second that it escaped her lips she gasped and her eyes went wide. Gabriel smiled at her, he liked the look on her, something he never thought he'd see, she was shocked by words, by her own words.

"I feel for you too." He disclosed that information to her and her eyes widened even more, if it was possible.

"Gabriel…" she trailed off as he placed a callused finger to her lips to hush her. She stared up at him, slightly scared, slightly excited, at the prospect of what it was that he was going to do next.

He leaned in slowly, his gaze locking with hers, and then his lips were only millimeters away from her own. Her eyes fluttered closed as the emotion of what was about to transpire finally caught up to her and then his lips were on hers, and they were soft, warm, and ever so slightly demanding as he kissed her.

She let herself succumb to the feeling of his lips and kissed him back somewhat hesitantly. His hands came to rest on her hips, fingers tracing patterns in her skin that sent goose bumps along the length of her spine. Her hands tangled up in his hair, pulling his lips closer, his hands tightened around her and pulled her closer.

Their kissing that had started out so sweet and innocent was slowly starting to become demanding and desperate as the feelings swept them away.

Finally breaking for air, their foreheads touched gently as they attempted to catch their breath, soft smiles on both their faces.

"Ivan will be wondering where we are." Murmured Melania as her eyes finally opened to meet his. His smile grew at the sight of her.

"So will Carl."

Their smiles threatened to split their faces and soon they were both chuckling. His hands dropped from her waist as hers dropped from his scalp.

"We should really get going then, shouldn't we?" asked Melania as she slid from her place between the wall of wood against her back and the wall of muscle against her front, to reach the side of her mare, grabbing her reins.

"Yes, we should." Agreed Gabriel, a small flush to his cheeks that matched the one on Melania's.

The pair of monster hunters, their horses' reins in hand, exited the stable together, wide smiles threatening their cover as they reached the side of Ivan and Carl, who were both standing there impatiently waiting.

"What took so long?" asked Carl as he mounted his stallion, Ivan following suit.

"Oh, uh, Tamary was just being a little stubborn." Replied Melania, gesturing to the large black mare beside her.

"Right." Nodded Gabriel in agreement as he and Melania exchanged a significant look.

"We should get going, it will take a few hours to reach Baba Yaga's and the sooner we can return the beast, the better." Stated Ivan, shooting a slightly angered look down at the large, blood covered canine that was sitting patiently and happily at the feet of Ivan's grey stallion.

"Yes, I agree, the sooner the gate is closed the better." Said Melania as she swung herself up and onto the back of Tamary, rubbing the large beast's neck softly in appreciation.

"Then lets go." Suggested Gabriel as Melania started the line, gesturing Tamary forward at a gentle speed so that Garm could keep up with them, the line of monster hunters and companions heading out towards what they all hoped would be the end of their adventure.

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Sweet, another chapter up, another chapter closer to the finale of Melania of Russia. –Does corny victory dance- thanks to all who have been reading and reviewing, and if all you do is read, why not drop me a line to tell me what it is that keeps you coming back to this ridiculous little piece of fiction? I always love feedback, good or bad, doesn't matter, cause I want to know what I'm doing that you like and what I'm doing that you could do without, it helps the writing and helps the reading since I can eliminate things that bother you.

Oh, I know that in the last chapter that I said I would introduce Baba Yaga in this chapter, but I didn't want to make the chapter too long, because then I know its hard to keep all the info straight when its introduced all at once. So next time there will probably be some Baba Yaga, also, the kissing scene-good? Bad? Too soon? Let me know.

As always, read and review

Andrew's Slinky


	9. Baba Yaga

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Hey everybody, I'm back, enjoy.

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Melania shifted on the saddle beneath her, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She could feel Gabriel's gaze on her back and was starting to feel a little bit self-conscious, something that she had never had a problem with before. She turned to look at him and he winked at her, making a blush creep its way onto her cheeks, something that Ivan, who was riding right next to her, noticed.

"Melania?" he asked softly, turning towards her slightly.

"Yes Ivan?" she returned, looking over at him as they rode at a medium pace.

"Did something happen?" he asked her, a slightly accusatory tone to his voice.

"I…well…uh…" she stuttered and he smirked, waiting for an answer.

"Maybe." Was the word that she was finally able to manage and he chuckled.

"What does that mean?" he asked her, not letting the subject drop, no matter how uncomfortable it made her.

"It means that it's none of your business, nosy." She stuck her tongue out at him in the spirit of their childhood days and he laughed aloud this time.

"Very well, maybe I should just ask Gabriel about it." He teased.

She looked scandalized, and her blush returned.

"Don't you dare." She warned him and he grinned at her.

"I don't know if I'll be able to resist, you're blushing."

"Shut up." She snapped.

"Melania, I've never seen you like this." He sounded slightly surprised and she couldn't stop the small giggle that escaped.

"Like what?"

"So happy." Was the simple explanation and her smile intensified.

"Maybe I've just never been this happy."

"Exactly my point, what happened?"

"Nothing at all."

She muttered a few words in Russian to Tamary and ushered the beautiful mare to trot faster, effectively separating herself from her brother.

Ivan watched her go and chuckled, his sister had always been very guarded with her heart.

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"Is this it?" Carl questioned many hours later as they arrived in a clearing of the woods. Melania smiled slyly over her shoulder at him.

"Sure is, don't worry, she isn't as intimidating as her place is."

"She lives in there?" Gabriel appeared at her side, a small smile of his own gracing his features.

"Yeah, interesting isn't it?" questioned Ivan as they all surveyed the home in front of them.

The home itself was just a small shack, brown in color and wooden in material; it looked as though it were about to tumble down in ruin any moment, and was set on top chicken's legs, three at each corner and it looked as though it were spinning on them. It radiated the magic of the occupant within and the horses all seemed spooked, but kept going as the riders approached the fence that surrounded the house.

"Are those?" Gabriel trailed off; his stomach churning slightly at the sight.

"Human." Melania nodded as they each rode through the one whole in the fence of spikes with skulls set atop them; past victims of the witch that lived inside.

"Oh my." Carl muttered as he brought up the rear, Garm bounding in behind him.

Gabriel swung down from atop his perch on his horse when he reached the front door of the shack and gallantly offered a hand up to Melania. She blushed a slight crimson but took his hand anyway and let him help her down.

"Thank you." She whispered as they paused in front of the door, their hands still clasped.

"Of course." He nodded.

Ivan and Carl exchanged a significant look but neither said a word as Melania finally let go of Gabriel's hand to knock on Baba Yaga's door. She didn't get a chance. The door swung open without warning to reveal a frightening sight. The person standing before them was an elderly woman, her hair, salt and pepper grey, fell in smooth layers to her waist. She was slightly stooped, a gnarled wooden cane in her weathered hand. Her face was wrinkled and ancient looking, a wise light to her eyes. She smiled up at them and the teeth that were revealed were just as withered and gnarled as the rest of her was. Her long, dark red skirt and pale green peasant shirt old and moth eaten looked as though they hadn't been washed in decades.

"Melania." Even her voice was faded, a soft croak.

"Hello Baba Yaga." Melania acknowledged with a bow of her head, showing the proper respect for the elderly and powerful woman before her.

"Gabriel, Ivan, Carl." She greeted the rest of them and all looked slightly shocked, as the only one who had met her before was Melania.

"I wouldn't be a very good witch if I couldn't do something as simple as divine the future." She chuckled dryly at their surprised faces; ushering them in and when she finally saw Garm a small shriek escaped her wrinkled lips. She spun on Melania, a fire in her wise dark eyes.

"Who let him out?" she growled low, indicating the dog with a shaking finger, her earlier feebleness forgotten.

"We didn't, a woman named Elisabeth did, she killed Hel and stole Garm away from the gate, that's why we're here."

"You want to know his new keeper." It was a statement, not a question and the air in the room seemed to crackle with the magic that now radiated from Baba Yaga.

"Yes." Melania nodded, careful of her tone.

"And what do you propose to do if I tell you who the new keeper is?" she was curious now.

"Tell them and return Garm to the gate." Gabriel stepped in.

"Oh, I am afraid it is not that simple my dears, you see, only the dead can enter through the gate without a keeper to aid them." She chuckled again as she took a seat on a rickety chair that sat before the small fireplace against the far wall. She pulled a shawl from the back of the chair to wrap around her slim shoulders.

"What are you saying?" Melania asked.

Baba Yaga looked over her shoulder, a cold smile on thin wrinkled lips.

"The keeper must be dead to enter the gate."

"You want us to kill the new keeper?" asked Ivan, his mind making the connection.

"It is not what I want, it is what must be done to close the gate and return that filthy animal." She snapped in return and Melania placed a gentle hand on Ivan's arm to make sure her beloved brother kept his tone polite.

"Who is the new keeper?" she spoke the one question they needed an answer to.

"The new keeper, the new keeper." Baba Yaga stood once more, her cane in hand as she hobbled slowly over to the table set in the corner. It was covered with a simple black cloth and a slim, metallic vase stood in the middle, a single white rose placed delicately inside.

"How will you find them?" wondered Carl allowed as he watched the witch sit down.

"Scrying." She murmured, picking up a silver framed mirror and holding it until it caught the light of the fire and cast dancing beams along the wall.

"Death, your keeper is a woman, a woman who is already gone to the gate, but who cannot get in. She has floated in front of it, awaiting her destiny. Dark hair and eyes, a warrior like yourself Melania."

"Who is she Baba Yaga?" Melania leaned close to the elderly woman, a pleading look in her bright green eyes.

"Her name is Anna, Anna Valerious."

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BUM, BUM, BUM. Anna enters the picture once more. What shall our beloved Gabriel do when his old love comes back and his new love gets a little snippy? Well, you'll just have to wait and see.

Sorry for the long update.

Andrew's Slinky


	10. Anna

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"Are you sure?" Gabriel's enter muscular body shook, his voice a barely audible whisper. Melania wrapped her arm with his own, steadying him a bit.

"The mirror doesn't lie, dear. Anna is your new keeper." Nodded Baba Yaga, headed towards the one back room.

"Where are you going?" asked Ivan as she disappeared behind the dark blue curtain that separated the two rooms.

"Here we are." She returned a few minutes later, a small, clay jar in her hands.

"What is it Baba Yaga?" asked Melania as the witch set the small pot down onto the black cloth covered table and sat in her former seat.

"Power for the ritual."

"Ritual, what ritual?" Carl barely kept the stutter from his voice.

"We need Anna to get you all to the gate. If she can do that, you can let her have Garm, since he is neither alive nor dead, he will need to go to the underworld with Anna."

"Can't you just send him there?" asked Ivan.

"No." was the snapped reply, "Since Garm was never alive, he will never be dead, and therefore he cannot go through the gate without Anna. Now, summoning Anna here will allow Garm to go back with her."

"And this will all be over?" asked Melania, the tiredness in her voice audible to everyone.

"Yes, however I must warn you…"

"Just do it."

"Melania, there could be…"

"Now." The female monster hunter was losing patience and Baba Yaga gave her a curt nod, reaching a hand within the jar and pulling it back out. She wasn't holding anything, but the air around her hand seemed to be outlined in an electric blue and was weaving its way around her skin.

"Liekile taliewa sena me terra yelea keiko." Her words were neither English, Latin, Russian or anything else than any other person in the room had ever heard before.

"What did she say?" Gabriel whispered in Melania's ear and she shivered at the feeling of his breath against her skin.

"I haven't the faintest idea." She shook her head.

The same electric blue light that had once surrounded Baba Yaga's hand now radiated out into the room and then made a shape, slowly defining the form of what Melania could only assume was a woman.

The light slowly darkened until features emerged, a nose and lips, dark curly hair, and then deep brown eyes. And finally, standing before them, exactly the same in every way as the day they had had her funeral, was Anna Valerious.

"Anna." Gabriel let her name slip past his lips and Melania turned to look up at him and then back at the woman whose eyes widened upon the sight of him.

"Gabriel." She murmured just as softly as he had uttered her name and launched herself from where she was standing and into his arms.

"Oof." He let her hug him and then very slowly returned her hug, his arms tightening around her slim form.

Melania felt a bubble of anger swell in her chest at the sight of the two monster hunters. Gabriel let go of Anna long before she let go of him, but they finally separated and the anger in Melania's chest didn't dissipate.

"How did…what happened?" she looked around the unfamiliar place in wonder and a slight fear. Gabriel rested a hand on her arm to calm her.

"We need your help Anna."

She looked over at him and smiled.

"Of course, what do you need me to do?"

"We need your help to close the gate of Helheim, you're the new keeper." Melania broke in, cutting right to the chase, not liking the woman before her in the least little bit.

"The new keeper?" the brunette echoed and Melania held back a nasty comment.

"Yes, you are. We need you to get Garm back down there so he can capture any escaped souls."

"But I wasn't meant to guard a gate." Anna sounded upset.

"If you weren't intended to guard it, then you wouldn't be here. You are the new keeper of the gate, it is your destiny."

"Destiny?" Anna parroted her again and Melania felt frustration more than anger weave through her body.

"Yes, destiny, please tell me you're familiar with the word." She snapped and Gabriel put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Anna, this is your destiny, you have to help the souls of those people find rest."

Anna looked from Gabriel to Melania in disbelief and then noticed exactly how close they were standing and that Gabriel had his arm on her shoulder. A feeling of sadness ripped through her at the sight as she remembered that the way Gabriel was looking at Melania was the way that he used to look at her.

"All right, I will help." She nodded, her throat sore from trying to swallow the lump that had appeared there as she realized that even if she was back right now she wasn't going to be able to stay.

"Thank God." Carl sighed, slumping against the wall for a moment.

"You need to get going, if you're going to get her to the gate." Baba Yaga broke in.

"What?" Melania snapped, not liking the idea of having to spend more time with Anna than was absolutely necessary.

"I tried to warn you, but you never listen." Snapped the witch in reply, before turning to the rest of the group, "You will need to hurry, for only three nights will Anna be human, in three days she becomes a soul once more, you need to get her to the gate within those three days, otherwise, all will be lost."

"Three days?" asked Ivan, "Where do we need to go?"

"You need to get to St. Petersburg, the Cathedral of Saint Paul."

"St. Petersburg in three days?" asked Melania.

"Yes Melania, you had better hurry." Baba Yaga nodded. Melania sent the witch a slightly dirty look before grabbing Gabriel's hand and leading him out the door. Ivan following closely, Garm at his side, and Carl, leading a bewildered Anna, brought up the rear.

"We have three days to get to St. Petersburg, great." Melania bitched as she swung herself up onto Tamary's back.

"How long does it take to get to St. Petersburg?" asked Gabriel as he got onto his own horse, pulling Anna up to ride behind him.

"On a good weather week with very fast horses and no distractions, like a vengeful Dracula? Nine days." Melania answered, waiting for Ivan and Carl to get onto their rides as well, trying to ignore the knots in her stomach at seeing Gabriel and Anna so close.

"We have to get to somewhere in three days when it takes nine days usually?" Gabriel retorted, anger in his voice and Melania sighed, pulling her hair back form her face.

"Yes, which means we won't have time to camp, we'll have to ride all night and all day."

"Then we better get started." Ivan stated, pulling his horse out into the lead, the rest falling into line.

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Okay, so Anna is back and Melania doesn't like it! Girl fight! Or will they become best friends? Stay tuned to find out.

Andrew's Slinky


	11. A Broken Heart and a Broken Line

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The line of friends and acquaintances had been riding for two days straight and had actually made very good time on their trip to St. Petersburg. They were only another twelve-hour ride from the ancient and noble city, and the wear on their steeds, along with the hunters themselves was starting to show. Each had started to slip off their saddle at least once from the pure exhaustion of riding this hard for two days straight, and each time another member of the line had to ride forward and keep them steady, they couldn't afford to lose the time, no matter how tired they were.

"How much longer do we have?" asked Gabriel from two riders behind Melania, who had taken up the front of the line to allow Ivan some sleep, even if it was only a few moments sitting atop his horse.

"I'd say somewhere between another eighteen and twenty hours." She called back to him, keeping her back straight and her eyes ahead, not wanting to look back and find Anna plastered against his back fast asleep as she had found her only a few hours earlier. It upset her stomach.

"How much longer do we have to go?" he asked a few seconds after and Melania sighed heavily.

"Another twelve-hours, but I don't like the look of those dark clouds." She replied, looking up at the angry purple sky.

"How can you see anything, it's midnight." Gabriel retorted, looking up into the sky but seeing nothing.

"The sky should be an inky black, or blue, with some star visibility, even through the trees, and it doesn't. It's angry and purple. Everything is too dark in here." She shivered visibly and Gabriel wanted nothing more than to be able to ride forward to her side and wrap his arms around her. But he knew he couldn't. Anna was still fast asleep behind him and Melania had been very careful not to look at him or talk to him unless it was completely necessary.

"Melania, you get some sleep, I'll take over the lead." He offered a few minutes later but she shook her head.

"No, I'm fine, you get some rest, you'll need it." She retorted a bit sharply as she shook her head as though to rid it of the sleep that was threatening to overwhelm her.

"Melania, don't be so damn stubborn, let me take over."

"I don't need you to take care of me, thank you very much." She snipped, looking over her shoulder only once to gauge his reaction. He looked a bit shocked and a bit hurt, but looked away from her when their eyes met.

She turned her head back to the front, watching the dirt road in front of her that cut through the forest, and missing the shrieking beast that came at her from above.

"Melania!" Gabriel called for her as Dracula came sweeping out of the sky with grace, snatching the beautiful monster hunter from her perch.

"Gabriel!" Melania reached a hand out as though she could reach the man that was left sitting on the ground, watching her, helpless, as she was lifted off into the sky.

"Melania, hold on!" Ivan had heard the screams and was awake now, grabbing Tamary's reins and tossing them to Gabriel before chasing Dracula with his own steed.

Gabriel understood the unspoken message and helped Anna, who had woken up after all the screaming as well, off the back of his steed onto the back of Tamary, and followed Ivan, Anna and Carl chasing after him with Garm on their heels.

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Melania struggled as hard as she dared against the large vampire holding her, as much as she wanted to get away from him, she did not want to splatter all over the ground.

"Let go of me." She growled low, trying her best to loosen his grip.

"You took Elisabeth from me, and now, I shall take you." He retorted viciously, his grip tightening and with a final effort Melania took her nails and scratched as hard as she could against the inside of the claw that was holding her right shoulder. Dracula hissed and let go momentarily, dropping Melania and she plummeted towards the ground only to be jerked back into the sky as Dracula swooped low and snagged her left foot in his own, pulling her back into the sky.

"Let go." She howled again, noticing that she was much closer to the ground this time and scratched him again. And again he let go of her, allowing her to drop closer to the ground only to catch her once again.

Ivan was catching up to her and now Melania could see him, he was riding as hard as he could, and the line was behind him the entire way.

"Ivan!" she called to him and as hard as he was trying to get to her, he just couldn't reach.

"Hold on Melania!" he called back to her as Dracula changed direction and swooped down low over the line, teasing them, Melania just out of their reach.

She screamed, her body out of line now that she was upside down. She couldn't tell where she was, or where any of the people that were there to help her were. Everything was backwards and upside down.

"Melania!"

She couldn't tell if that was Gabriel or Ivan, they were too far away now.

"You mustn't be too sad, my dear, perhaps you will see them again." Dracula teased her.

"Let go of me." She growled in response, wriggling in his grasp.

"I can't do that dear, I can't allow Anna to guard the gate, how will I get Elisabeth back otherwise?" he asked her incredulously and she stared up at him in shock and fear for a moment before reaching up and scratching him as hard as she could, drawing a heavy blood flow this time and when he dropped her, he couldn't swoop low fast enough to catch her again.

She screamed as she fell through the air and she felt a claw tear into her shoulder, pulling her out of her fall for only a moment before her weight became too much and she kept falling.

"Melania!"

That was Gabriel she was sure of it this time and when her body made contact with something hard but warm she knew she was safe.

"I've got you, hold on." His soothing voice reached her ears as he steadied her body, draped over the horse he was riding.

He joined with Ivan and the others, riding in a group instead of a line, further into the woods until Dracula's cries and figure could no longer be seen or heard.

"Do you think she's all right?" Ivan asked once the line had stopped running. Melania was draped over the steed that Gabriel sat upon, her body limp.

"I think so, just a little hurt, he scratched her shoulder pretty badly when he tried to catch her that last time."

Melania groaned when her shoulder was touched by her brother, but she didn't wake, her green eyes stayed slammed shut, as though in pain.

"She'll be all right, but we'll need to stop, for now."

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When Melania woke up she couldn't remember where she was or why her shoulder hurt so badly.

"Ugh, Ivan?"

"I'm here Melania, how are you feeling?" Ivan was leaning over her, his face etched with concern and scratches across his cheek.

"What happened to your face?" she asked him, her good arm reaching out to caress the red lines on his skin.

"Just some over zealous tree branches, how're you feeling?" he asked her again, and she smirked at him.

"My shoulder hurts, what happened?" she started to sit up only to feel a strong hand on her good shoulder.

"You should stay down for a little while longer Melania, that shoulder is still looking dangerous." Gabriel's voice weaved through the air to hit her ears and never in her life had she been so happy to hear him. She spun around to face him, ignoring his request that she lay down and instantly wished she hadn't because her entire world started to tilt as her vision swam and blurred.

"What happened?" she asked him as he kneeled to her height and steadied her.

"Dracula attacked us…"

"Anna!" fear gripped her, if Dracula had snagged her, then the gate would never get closed.

"I'm fine." The only other feminine voice reached her ears and she felt relaxed, relieved and a bit annoyed at the sound.

"Melania lay back."

Again she ignored his request and this time stood up completely, swaying on the spot for a moment or two before blinking the dizziness away and heading over towards Tamary.

"We have to get moving, who knows how much time we've lost."

"Melania, Melania." Gabriel reached her side quickly and grabbed her arms to keep her from swinging herself up onto the saddle.

"What?" she turned to meet his gaze and he took another step towards her, closing in on her personal space quickly.

"Take some time, we lost an hour at the most. We have to bandage that shoulder and make sure that you haven't got any more injuries." He slowly pried her hands off of Tamary's reigns and pulled her away from the noble creature.

"Gabriel, we don't have time to rest or bandage anything, we have to get moving." She tried to rid herself of his grip, but he only held tighter.

"I won't let us be late, I swear, but Melania, right now, we have to take care of you and that's it." He said it with such an air of finality that Melania didn't even argue as he took her over to the fire that they had built, sat her next to Carl and pulled out the bandages for her shoulder, along with a canteen of water to clean the cut.

She watched him a bit warily as he took the collar of her shirt and opened it a bit more, pulling the shoulder down her arm to expose the smooth expanse of skin that was split by an angry red mark that still seeped some blood. His dark eyes scanned over the exposed skin a bit slower than entirely necessary and Melania could feel color start to rise to her cheeks.

He gently cleaned the wound, giving her apologetic looks as she hissed in pain. He blew on the cut to soothe the stinging that his actions caused and color slashed both their cheeks as they noticed exactly how close his lips were to her skin and when he pulled away his lips were close to her lips and all the butterflies that had existed in Melania's stomach the first time he had looked at her like he was looking at her now reappeared.

Anna cleared her throat noisily as she stood up and left the side of the fire to help Carl tend to the horses and the pair on the ground quickly sprang apart at the noise. They looked at one another sheepishly as Gabriel grabbed the clean white bandages and covered the red mark on her shoulder.

"We should rest for another hour or two, get some sleep." Gabriel managed to whisper as he recovered from the feelings that were coursing through his body.

"We can't, we have to keep moving." Melania shook her head, ridding the feelings just like Gabriel had.

"Melania, we all need sleep, we were so tired that Dracula managed to swoop down and grab you right off of Tamary without any warning, we need the rest, we can't keep riding like this." He tried to convince her and she sighed, her head hitting her knees as she drew them up to her chest.

"Fine, but only for a few hours, then we have to keep moving, without Anna the gate will stay open, and we can't have that." She reluctantly agreed and he smiled leaning in and kissing her temple.

"You rest, I'm going to check on Carl and the horses." He got up from his place at her side and headed out of the reach of the firelight to where Anna and Carl were with the horses.

Ivan leaned down towards his sister.

"He seems to care for you."

She looked up at him and returned the smile he sent her way.

"Yes he does."

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Melania woke up a few hours later still next to the fire; that was now just some struggling ember. At first she wasn't sure what had woken her but when she heard slightly raised voices she realized the sound was what had jarred her out of a rather heavy sleep. She looked around slowly, not wanting to disturb anyone and saw Ivan just a few feet from her, Carl on his left, snoring loudly but Anna and Gabriel were no where to be found.

So she got up to find them. Figuring they were the raised voices she walked around the silent horses and stayed in the shadows to watch what was happening.

The pair of monster hunters were facing one another, Garm in a sleeping heap at Anna's feet, and while their voices were slightly raised, they were obviously trying to keep the sound low. Gabriel looked annoyed while Anna looked down right angry, her hands were clenched in fists at her sides and her eyes were on fire.

"I should go by myself." She hissed at him and he sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"No, Anna, it is our job to get you there and we are going to get you to St. Petersburg." Gabriel retorted, his voice laced with fury that was barely hidden.

"Gabriel, I can't stay here and put you in danger." Her voice lost its anger and just shook with the fear that gripped the woman's heart as she faced the man that she still loved.

"Anna." Her name was a soft whisper and Melania looked over her shoulder at the men sleeping behind her to make sure they hadn't woken up and just when she turned back, intent on stepping between the two before her and fixing the fight, she saw something that made her stomach drop.

The pair were no longer talking, they were kissing. Anna's lips settled over Gabriel's, his hands on her waist and hers curled tightly into his long hair. Barely suppressing the sobs that rose to her throat Melania spun on her heel and ran back to the fire, hitting her knees in the dirt, tears threatening to choke her as she tried to keep them at bay. She wouldn't cry, she couldn't cry. She was so stupid for not seeing this coming. She knew of Gabriel's history, knew all about him and Anna and their feelings for one another. With Anna back she was being a ridiculous little girl not to expect him to run back to her, even if he couldn't keep her.

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"Anna, no." Gabriel separated their lips by grabbing her upper arms and pushing her away from him, hurt and anger in his eyes.

"Gabriel, what's the matter?" she asked him softly, startled by his actions.

"Anna…" he sighed, looking down, "Melania and I…I care about her."

Anna felt her heart shatter as she looked at him and realized he was telling the truth.

"How could you care for her and kiss me?" she was being ridiculous and petty, and she knew that, but she couldn't stop the words from leaving her lips.

"Anna, you kissed me." That was the most ridiculous excuse and he knew it, but he cared for Melania; that he knew without any doubt. As much as he had once cared for Anna, as much as he still cared for her, their relationship, whatever it was, had been doomed from the beginning. He couldn't be with her, and if he was honest, if he had to choose between her and Melania, it wasn't even a contest.

"Gabriel, I care about you." She finally admitted what she never had when they had been together in Transylvania.

"I cared about you as well Anna."

Cared. Past tense.

She nodded at him and stepped back, her heart hitting the ground with a loud crash, the bloody pieces flinging everywhere.

"Okay, I understand."

"Anna, forgive me."

She smiled at him and a calm expression took over her eyes. She stepped forward, took his hands in her own and brought them to her lips, kissing them softly.

"I wish you every blessing."

"Thank you Anna."

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Melania had battled with her mind the entire night and as she pretended to wake and get ready for the ride that faced her she made up her mind finally.

"Melania how's your shoulder?" Gabriel appeared at her side and she felt her heart contract painfully.

"It is perfectly fine." She answered a bit coldly.

"We'll make it in time, I promise." His warm hand rested against her uninjured shoulder and she quickly shrugged him off.

"Yes, you will." She nodded, not looking at him.

"I will? What are you talking about?" a small flame of fear erupted in his chest.

"I need you to take Anna to St. Petersburg, the Cathedral of St. Paul is the largest cathedral in the city, set right in the middle. You can't miss it. Now, the portal that will get Anna and Garm to the gate is located in the basement, just under the large cross of the main pulpit."

"Why are you telling me this? You'll be right there beside me."

She finally turned to look at him and almost burst into tears right there at the sight of his face.

"No I won't. I finally figured it out. Dracula took me, because he wanted you to come after me. If he can distract us long enough, then he can make it so we won't reach St. Petersburg in time."

"Melania."

"Listen to me. If he stops Anna from getting there on time, the gate will remained open until Anna dies and the new keeper is made."

"Wait, I thought Baba Yaga said that Anna was only alive for these three days."

"No, if she can't reach the gate, her life is restored. But if that gate remains opened Dracula could get inside and pull Elisabeth back out."

"I thought you had to be the keeper or dead to reach the inside of the gate." He was confused, by her speech and her cold attitude towards him.

"Dracula's heart does not beat, therefore he is dead. He can reach the inside and if he pulls Elisabeth back out, the world will not survive; he can have an army of the undead."

"Then why can't you come with us, it's daylight, he can't reach us." He reached out for her as though to soothe her, but she stepped out of his reach.

"No, he could, those clouds don't look so good. If it starts to rain, the sun disappears and he appears. I can't take the chance that Anna will not reach the gate on time."

"Melania, we'll protect you."

"No, I don't need protecting," she swung herself up on to Tamary's back, "Get her there on time, I will distract Dracula."

"Melania, please, let me protect you." He was practically begging her now and she knew it, but the power of what she had to do, and what had transpired last night made his pleas fall on deaf ears.

"Why don't you protect your precious Anna, Van Helsing?" She spat his name out like it was the dirtiest of curses and it was as powerful as though she had slapped him across the face. He regarded her with a hurt look before she urged Tamary forward and took off, turning to the left to draw Dracula away from the line.

"Where in the hell is she going?" Ivan ran over to where his sister had been just seconds before. He turned towards Gabriel, who hadn't moved a millimeter since Melania had called him Van Helsing.

"Gabriel?"

He stayed as silent and still as stone; his heart shattering as his mind made the connection that Melania had seen him and Anna together the night before. If something happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

"Where is she going?" Ivan reached out and shook the larger man by the shoulders, his eyes snapping dangerously.

"She said that she had to distract Dracula in order to give us a chance to get Anna to St. Petersburg."

"What, but she can't go off on her own!" Ivan turned to grab the reins of his own horse but Gabriel reached out to stop him.

"We don't know where she's headed, and I am going to need your help to get Anna and Garm into the gate, all right?"

"I can't let my sister head off into the woods, all alone, with Dracula after her." Ivan sounded outraged by the very idea.

"No Ivan, we have to." Gabriel replied, his voice soft and still sounding hurt. Ivan looked from the seemingly broken man before him to the empty space his sister had once occupied.

"All right, lets get started, we only have twenty hours to get Anna there and we're going to need at least twelve of those."

The line started once more, short one member.

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Okay, this is like the longest chapter that I have written, for this story or any of my others. I hope you like it, I hope you still like me and this silly little piece of fiction, read and review please.

Andrew's Slinky.


	12. Things Broken are not Easily Fixed

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Melania had been riding for a good three hours now and she knew that while she was taking the long way to St. Petersburg, she could still reach there in about the same amount of time that it was going to take the rest of them, but she had to pull Dracula away from the group.

Of course it might not work. After all Anna was with the rest of the group and he might just go after them, but something in her heart told her that since she was the one that had taken Elisabeth from him, then he would do anything he could to take her out of the world as well.

She just had to keep riding and pray to God that those rain clouds held off on their rage for another few hours, she couldn't risk avoiding Dracula for the entire twelve hours that it was going to take her to reach St. Petersburg, because once Anna had taken over her guardianship of the gate, then it didn't matter what Dracula did.

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Gabriel couldn't concentrate. The only thing that he was currently thankful for was that he was not the one leading the group because otherwise they might get lost. He couldn't seem to do anything but go over the last conversation he had had with Melania just before she had ridden off. Why had she called him Van Helsing? She had started to call him Gabriel and he had rather liked the sound of his given name on her lips. Her voice made his name sound like music and there was nothing prettier than his name on her voice.

She had ridden off, telling him to protect Anna. But she had said it like she was angry, not like she really wanted him to watch over her for the sake of the gate, but like…like she had wanted him to watch over Anna instead of her.

Which was incredibly ridiculous.

He loved Melania and wanted to do nothing more than protect her. He wanted to keep her safe and happy and he never, ever, wanted her to be cross with him. So why was she? And why was she dragging Anna into it?

A cold thought ran through his body and down his spine. She had seen Anna kiss him. She must have thought that the pair of them were back together, or together for the first time since technically they had never been together in the first place. And while he had dreamed about that ever since losing Anna, after meeting Melania he didn't dream of being reunited with the gypsy princess anymore. Because Anna was his past and Melania was his future; he wanted her, not Anna.

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"Melania." Her name sounded like a whisper through the trees, but she knew the accent that tinged the deep baritone. Dracula was somewhere in the vicinity and he knew that she was there. But at least her original plan had worked, he was chasing after her instead of chasing after the group.

She urged Tamary forward, trying to get her beloved black mare to move faster than she ever had. She needed to be close to St. Petersburg but far enough away that Dracula wouldn't be able to stop the mission that needed to be carried out in order to save the world.

"Melania." Her name sounded a bit more stable than a whisper this time and it felt like someone had dropped ice water into her veins. Her hands started to turn numb as shivers wracked her body. She was starting to hyperventilate from the fear and as hard as she tried to shake it off, she just couldn't, he was much too real, and had almost killed her one too many times.

"Melania." That once had sounded like he was right on top of her and the ice water in her veins seemed to solidify and turn into pure ice, freezing her body, making her thankful that she was riding on Tamary and not trying to run away this time.

"Melania." The sound of large wings swept past her ear and she ducked, practically flattening herself against Tamary's back.

She urged the trusty mare forward, to run faster, weaving through trees like a ghost, Dracula right behind her. She wouldn't allow the fear to swallow her alive, she had made this decision, assigned herself with this mission and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to carry it out.

So when the sound of wings started past her ear again she reached within her saddle pack and pulled out a dagger that she had taken from the house. She waited a moment or two before the sound was back and took aim, firing the deadly weapon into the sky and her effort was rewarded with a high pitched shriek that she could only assume meant that she had hit her target.

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"Do you think she's all right?" Ivan asked as Gabriel came up beside him.

"I don't know." Gabriel shook his head, his dark eyes stormy with the thought of his beloved out in the wilderness alone with a murderous raving lunatic after her.

"She's going to be okay." Anna's voice piped up from her place behind Gabriel.

Neither man answered her. Ivan because he wasn't so sure that he believed her statement and Gabriel because he knew Melania's underlying reason for wanting to leave and he didn't want to give her any more ammunition for her thoughts of him and Anna.

"Van Helsing, how much longer do we have?" Carl called from the back of the group, Garm trailing behind him, panting heavily, he was as tired as the rest of them even after their few hours of sleep.

"A few more hours Carl, then this will all be over with." It sounded like a promise but Gabriel wasn't so sure. This ride was going to be long and tiring and they could only pray that they would get Anna there in time. If they didn't…he didn't want to think of the consequences, the one of the spirits escaping from the gate or the one where Melania was angry with him and Anna was still alive.

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Melania didn't know how badly she had hurt Dracula, but she hadn't seen or heard him since his last shriek and took that as a sign that he was at least too injured to fly. So she turned Tamary to her right and headed for the more direct route to St. Petersburg, even if her heart was broken she needed to make sure that the gate was closed, to save the world and for the small satisfaction that she would get from watching Anna disappear forever.

So with that in mind she urged Tamary forward, making a mental note to retire her faithful mare after all the running she was making her do.

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Two chapters in as many days, I am on a roll! Read and review please.

Andrew's Slinky


	13. St Petersburg

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The beautiful and rich skyline of St. Petersburg loomed above the traveling group and each and every one of them took a moment to appreciate the beauty before realizing what they were doing and riding deeper into the city.

"This is it, the Cathedral of St. Paul." Ivan whispered reverently as they came to a large and ornate white chapel in the middle of the city.

"Hurry, we better get inside, the sun is going to go down in a few minutes." Carl said, looking out at the darkening horizon with apprehension. Both Ivan and Gabriel followed his gaze and they both shuddered visibly, it was a little too close for comfort.

"Here we go." Ivan crossed himself as Gabriel helped Anna down from the back of his horse and, not releasing her hand, started to drag her towards the steps of the cathedral, Garm barking fiercely behind them.

The inside was as ornate as the outside, wooden doors carved with angelic symbols, and a very large silver cross at the head of the pulpit.

"Melania said that the gate would be in the basement, beneath the cross." Gabriel told Anna, but she wasn't listening to him. Her eyes had glassed over, and his words fell on deaf ears. She walked in a trance like state towards the large silver cross and stood before it, staring.

"Anna?" Gabriel asked her cautiously. She didn't respond. "Anna, we don't have time for this."

She ignored him once again and instead grabbed hold of Garm's fur, he had followed her up to the pulpit, his primal instinct as the guard dog of the gate telling him that she was the keeper and he should stay with her. She tightened her grip on him and the pair of them took off towards a large oak door, carved with angelic symbols just like the front doors.

"Anna!" Gabriel quickly kneeled before the large cross and crossed himself, sending a prayer to the heavens before following the running gypsy princess and her furry companion through the door and down a large set of wooden stairs that each had a different symbol on them, but these symbols were not ones that he recognized.

"Van Helsing!" both Carl and Ivan took off after him as he chased Anna and Garm down the stairs, and were so busy watching their steps that they slammed right into his back when they reached the bottom of the stairs, where he was standing, still as one of the statues of St. Paul up in the main part of the cathedral.

"Whoa."

Before them was a large swirling pool that seemed to be stuck onto the wall, its colors were shaded and grey. Anna stood before it, one hand outstretched as though to touch it, but she didn't step closer. Garm sat faithfully at her feet, his tongue out, panting.

"Is that the gate?" asked Ivan, seemingly nonplussed.

"I think so." Nodded Gabriel as he turned to look at the young man standing behind him. Carl sat down on the steps behind him heavily.

"How does she enter?" he asked softly and the other two men shrugged.

"I think she's supposed to just walk through it, like a doorway." Ivan suggested, keeping an eye on the gypsy princess and her bloody companion as they stared, transfixed, into the open mouth of the gate.

A crash was heard at the top of the stairs and in a bloody mangled heap, a body hit the bottom of the stairs, almost flattening Carl as he tried to get out of the way.

"Ow." The mass moaned, curly brown hair was thrown back as the figure sat up.

"Melania." Gabriel let her name drift past his lips without any thought of her anger towards him.

"That one hurt." She acknowledged playfully before looking around. "Why hasn't she gone yet? The sun is almost down, once the sunlight on this day is over, she won't be able to get in, hurry, Dracula is just outside."

"Can he enter a church, it is a holy place." Ivan sounded shocked.

"I think he can, he's going to try at least, why hasn't she entered yet?" Melania let it all out in one large breath.

"She just keeps staring at it, mesmerized." Carl explained as he helped the female monster hunter up.

"Yes, its swirl of black and gray is very pretty, but she has to enter, the three days are almost up, it's her destiny." Melania remarked sarcastically, almost all of her self-control and patience gone at this point.

Another crash was heard and footsteps were thundering down the stairs.

"Hurry!" Melania yelled, stepping forward to move Anna along, but she never got there. Dracula appeared at the top of the stairs, a very obvious knife wound on his shoulder, right at the joint and Melania took the time to smirk at her handiwork with a dagger before he lunged forward and knocked her away from Anna and the portal.

They hit the hardwood floor in a tangle of limbs and as Gabriel and Ivan took steps forward to help Anna seemed to be jerked out of her reverie.

"Oh." She exclaimed quietly at the sight before her and then she looked over at the fight to her left. She looked back at the portal and then at the fight. Taking a deep breath she took a step towards the portal, she had to enter it in order to stop all the damage being done.

"Wait!" Melania yelled out, reaching for Anna, who stopped, a bit stunned at the other woman's outburst.

"I will get Elisabeth back." Dracula broke in before Anna could say a word. He took several purposeful strides towards the portal and Gabriel leaped forward to stop him. Melania lunged just as quickly and wrapped her arms around her fellow hunter.

"Wait, let it play out." She whispered to him and he took her advice, one because he trusted her and two, because he liked the feeling of her body pressed against his like that.

Dracula stepped purposefully past Anna, almost shoving her out of the way and then he turned his head to send the group behind him a devilish smile before stepping through the portal, the shades of gray swallowed him and once he was gone from sight they burst into color, shades of red and orange erupted, angry black streaks throughout and the sounds of screams were heard.

"Quickly, before he gets back out, close the portal Anna." Melania called to the stunned woman. Anna looked from the entwined forms of the man she loved and the woman she despised to the portal and back. She sent them a soft smile and a nod before heading through the portal, Garm on her heels.

The shades of red and orange faded, along with the screams and the colors of gray flickered for a moment before turning to light shades of purple and blue, soothing colors. No screams erupted, no whispered voices, just a calm and serene silence. The colors swirled heavily, mixing until they faded to a blinding white and then the portal was gone, and an empty wall sat before them, plain and unmarked.

"What happened?" asked Ivan, stepping closer to investigate the wall.

"I figured out how Dracula was resurrected. Elisabeth, being one of the undead, but still technically dead, could get in through the portal. She knew of Dracula, knew that he had been killed, and she killed Hel to get Garm. With both keepers gone, she was free to resurrect Dracula. So I figured, that if Dracula was inside the gate when Anna closed it, then he wouldn't be able to get back out. So I let him believe he was getting his precious Elisabeth back. And he bought it." Melania let go of Gabriel quickly, not sparing him a second glance as she joined her brother's side.

"Does this mean it's all over?" asked Carl. Melania chuckled and leaned into her brother's side.

"Yes Carl, that's what is means."

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So I think one more chapter and then an epilogue of sorts, and this little piece of happy fiction is going to be over. Boo. I rather enjoyed writing this story, usually I'm so excited to get my characters together that I do sacrifice the plot a bit. But this time I wrote plot first and character love second. Yay me! -Claps and jumps excitedly- so please, read and review I will appreciate it so much.

Andrew's Slinky


	14. Home

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The ride back to Melania and Ivan's home had been silent. No one made a sound the entire way, each occupied with his or her own thoughts. Melania was debating on whether or not pursuing a relationship with Gabriel was worth it. Ivan was hoping that Lilia was still awake when they reached the manor because he had been dying to see her. Carl just wanted to be home and safe once more. And Gabriel…he was berating himself for kissing Anna, kicking himself for not figuring out that's why Melania was upset earlier, and hating himself for not talking it out with her. He wanted them to be okay again, he wanted her to smile up at him like she used to, he wanted to be able to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless like he had been dying to do ever since their first kiss in the barn. But most of all, he wanted her to stop being angry, and to start being happy.

"Here we are boys, home." Melania spoke the first words of the entire four-day ride as the manor came into view.

"Thank God." Ivan crossed himself, urging his horse forward. He broke into a gallop finally and Ivan didn't even take the time to take care of him before he was gone and running up the front steps. Lilia was already standing in the doorway, read to greet them all and was as shocked as the rest of the group when Ivan ran right up to her, gathered her in his arms and kissed her like it would be his last opportunity to do so.

Melania smiled wide and whooped appreciatively, she had adored the idea of Ivan and Lilia since the day the two of them had started their song and dance. She had always enjoyed Lilia and they had dreamed of being sisters since day one, so now that is looked like that childhood dream might just come true as Lilia got over her shock, wrapped her arms around Ivan's neck and kissed him back, a happy feeling erupted throughout her entire body.

Gabriel watched Melania's smile and knew right then and there that he was going to do whatever it took to get her to smile at him like that again.

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Ivan and Lilia had disappeared somewhere, Carl was already in bed, the horses were in the barn being taken care of and both Melania and Gabriel were standing in the foyer, nervous and awkward.

"Melania I…" Gabriel tried, but when she looked up at him with a mixture of sadness and anger, the words caught in his throat.

"I know what you're going to say, so don't." she whispered, looking away from him, her heart slowly breaking.

"Melania…"

"I saw the two of you kissing," she interrupted, "if you wanted her instead of me, you should have said something. I knew the pair of you had a history, Carl told me all about it. You should have just told me instead of pretending that the kiss we shared meant anything while running off and kissing Anna." She sounded on the verge of tears and as much as it hurt him to see her cry, he was angrier than anything.

"Is that what you think happened?" he asked her, an edge to his voice.

"I know that's what happened, I saw the two of you." She snapped, an edge to her voice as well.

"Yes we did share a kiss, but it didn't mean anything." His words rang throughout the foyer, his tone sharp.

Melania laughed bitterly at him.

"Is that what you think? That you can share a kiss with someone you had a history with and not feel anything?" she sounded more hurt than angry now.

"I loved Anna, I won't deny that. But we had our shot and it wasn't meant to be. But Melania…Melania look at me." He grabbed her chin and forced her eyes to meet his, "I love you, and as much as Anna was a part of me, she isn't anymore. I want you."

She averted her eyes again and he dropped her chin with a loud sigh.

"I don't believe you."

"Well then don't. But damn it woman, I love you, and I don't care if you believe me or not, cause I am not going anywhere." He crossed his arms over his chest and favored her with a glare that dared her to defy him.

"Gabriel, I love you. I really do, but I will not be a second choice. It isn't going to happen." She shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes.

He sighed heavily and gave her an understanding look.

"So that's what this is. You think that since I can't have Anna, I'll replace her with you."

She didn't respond, she didn't have to he had hit the proverbial nail right on the head.

"Melania." He reached out and pulled her close, ignoring her small struggles to get away.

"I love you so much that it almost hurts. And when I saw you hurt it hurt me. I don't want to lose you over this."

She sighed but stopped struggling, allowing herself to melt right into his embrace, their bodies pressed together as though they were two puzzle pieces destined to fit together.

"I love you." She whispered against the cotton fabric of his shirt and he looked down at her with an amused smile.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" he asked her teasingly and she looked up at him, a smile on her face as well.

"I suppose." She murmured as his lips descended on hers. When they finally met fireworks exploded and they both felt a little dizzy, clinging onto one another in the foyer, their lips desperately searching as their hands stayed stationary. When breathing became a problem they broke apart, panting heavily.

They didn't say anything, and they didn't have to. They were in love and that was all there was to it. Melania melted into his embrace once more and sighed softly as his heartbeat reached her ear.

Gabriel looked down at her and smiled, reaching forward and sweeping her up and into his arms. She giggled as her arms wound their way around his neck, her lips finding his again.

He carried her up the stairs, their lips never parting. And together they started off on their newest adventure.

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Whew, two chapters in one day, well, three once I get the epilogue finished. I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope that you all review and tell me your final thoughts, thanks for staying with me.

Andrew's Slinky


	15. Epilogue

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It had been a year since Gabriel and Carl had shown up at the manor and now it was like they had lived there all their lives. Carl had decided to stay on to help out with the monster hunting, though Melania and Lilia had a sneaking suspicion it was because of Mary, the cook.

Today there was a wedding.

The bride and groom stood at the altar, a priest before them, but they couldn't see anything but one another. Their contrasting eyes stayed locked throughout the entire ceremony, as did their hands. They had fallen in love in a short amount of time, but it didn't matter to the, or the friends and family that surrounded them. The only thing that mattered was the love that they had for one another.

The priest finished his sermon and the dark haired groom smiled widely before pulling his new bride close and kissing her as fiercely as the first time. Once they parted for air Melania sniffed and wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"You okay?" Gabriel asked her, leaning into her to make sure that she was all right.

"Oh yes, I'm fine. Weddings just make me cry I suppose." She shrugged and he smiled at her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into his side as they watched Ivan and Lilia take their first steps as husband and wife.

"I remember how much you cried on our wedding day." He teased her, leaning down and giving her neck a tender kiss. She pushed him away playfully and he only pulled her closer, their bodies fitting together like they always had: perfectly

"Gabriel?"

"Yes?" he looked down at her with his hazel eyes and she nearly melted.

"I love you."

He smiled wide.

"I love you."

They leaned in for a kiss and the fireworks exploded just as loud and bright as the first time.

They'd been to hell and back, almost literally, and they stayed together. Because together they were strongest. Melania had been right, she didn't need Gabriel to take care of her, and Gabriel certainly didn't need Melania to take care of him, but both of them wanted the other to take care of, protect, and love them. It was funny how life worked out sometimes, almost as if it were all some big plan.

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-Dances wildly- I am so happy that I finished this, because I love it! And I hope that you all loved it too, I hope that I ended it satisfactorily for all of you, and if not, oh well, because as of right now there is no sequel and this is the last chapter, so if you didn't like it, rearrange it in your head if you must. I love you all for staying with me through this story, and I hope that all of you will review and tell me what you thought of the entire thing.

Andrew's Slinky


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